Main Street is more than the center of business and local history in Mount Airy, Md. It’s where the Frederick-Carroll County line bisects the town and determines where children attend school and how much property taxes residents pay. That invisible demarcation dictates how businesses are licensed and how city officials apply for grants.
Mount Airy has two counties but one identity
But residents say that line divides the town but not them. “We are definitely one town in two counties,” Mayor Larry Hushour said.
Most of the 9,800 residents identify with the town, not the county, said Larry Vallett, vice president of the Historical Society of Mount Airy.
“When people move to Mount Airy, they don’t care about the side,” he said. “They’re looking at the schools and the neighborhood.”
Residents don’t consider one side superior to the other, said Vallett, who has lived on the Frederick side for 30 years. Town activities and a sense of camaraderie unite them, he said.
“There are so many volunteer organizations and there are a lot of participants: kids’ sports, clubs, fraternal organizations, carnivals, festivals,” he said.
Mount Airy, about 35 miles north of D.C. and 35 miles west of Baltimore, dates to the 1830s, when a few houses were built on Parr’s Ridge, the highest point in Maryland east of the Appalachian Mountains, according to the Historical Society of Mount Airy. When the B&O Railroad looked to connect Baltimore and Frederick, engineers determined that trains couldn’t ascend the ridge, so tracks were laid two miles south, a station was built and the town was born. A railroad brakeman whose ears were chilled from the cold wind across the ridge dubbed the town Mount Airy. The nickname stuck.
During the Civil War, the railroad carried northern troops and supplies to the South and officers were stationed in the town. Later the railroad brought patients to the town for medical care. Today, the former train station houses the Mount Airy Museum, run by the historical society. About 100 people are members of the society and two dozen volunteer at the museum.
“We get tourists from all over the United States, about 10,000 visitors since it opened,” Vallett said. “Mount Airy is a registered historic district. We have a historic sign on Interstate 70. Tourists have said they stopped on their way through town because they saw it.”
While residents are proud of the town’s history, they also welcome newcomers, said real estate agent Sandy Olson, of ReMax Results.
Among the newcomers is her son, whom she helped buy a townhouse before the covid-19 pandemic. He liked the easy commute to his job in Baltimore, although he has been working remotely since the pandemic.
“It’s got a small-town feel, but it’s easy to get to Baltimore,” Olson said of Mount Airy.
The town’s northern border runs along Fieldbrook Lane to Saddleback Trail and Candice Drive; the eastern border runs along Route 27, Watkins Park and Center Street, then cuts to Arrowwood Circle, Cobblestone Lane, Longbow Road, Locksley Lane, Kingsforest Trail, the south branch of the Patapsco River, and the Carroll-Howard County line.
Twin Arch Road, the CSX Rail Line and I-70 form the southern border; and West Ridge Drive, Leafy Hollow Circle, Village Gate Drive and the Mount Airy Village West and Westridge sections make up the western edge.
“My husband and I say it’s God’s country,” said Diann Linton, a lifelong resident and the 2023 Mount Airy volunteer of the year. “I love the people. Everyone’s friendly and everyone looks out for everyone else.”
The close-knit feeling comes from residents supporting each other and organizations throughout the town, such as the historical society and the Mount Airy Main Street Association, which promotes the business district, Hushour said.
“Everyone comes together when the chips are down. Main Street is a diorama of Americana. You can walk down Main Street and say hello to everyone,” he said.
Being in two counties can be a blessing and, at times, a challenge, Hushour said.
“When we want to get something through the state legislature, we have to go to both districts,” he said. But officials were able to procure personal protective equipment for residents from both counties during the pandemic. The town has received grants from both counties for parks and other projects, he said.
“The good thing is we can go to both counties,” Hushour said. “But we have to deal with two counties and two different forms of government. We roll with it.”
While children and their families might not know each other as well as their immediate neighbors, they eventually connect.
“Everyone comes together in youth athletics, scouts and churches,” Hushour said. “We find ways to get together.”
Living there: In the past year, 354 homes sold in Mount Airy, with prices averaging $485,000 to $500,000, Olson said. Of those, 308 were single-family homes, most with three to five bedrooms and two to three bathrooms. About 50 are on the market.
Schools: Frederick County children attend Twin Ridge Elementary School, New Market Middle School and Lingnore High School. Carroll County children attend Mount Airy and Parr’s Ridge elementary schools, Mount Airy Middle School and South Carroll High School.
Mass Transit: Mount Airy is about 21 miles from the Shady Grove Metro station, on the Red Line, and 26.5 miles from the Rockville Metro station, on the Red Line. The Montgomery County Department of Transportation runs a Route 90 bus from nearby Damascus to the Shady Grove Metro.