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St.
James'
Episcopal Church is nestled between St. James Street, West Church Street
and Main Street amid a backdrop of quaint Victorian homes. The church is
located in Mt. Airy, MD, which comprises a tri-county area of Frederick, Howard
and Carroll counties. Mt. Airy is 35 miles west of Baltimore, 20 miles
east of Frederick and 50 miles northwest of Washington, D.C. The town is
located northwest of the Interstate 70 and MD Route 27 intersection. Just
down the street from the church is old town Mt. Airy, a bustling business
district that boasts Town Hall, our St. James Thrift Shop, wonderful
restaurants, antique shops, gift shops, etc.
The
community began in 1830 as a settlement of houses and stores along Parr's
Ridge. During the early years the
settlement had no name. In the 1840's
the town's few citizens felt a need for a church and education for their
children. In 1846, the Ridge
Presbyterian Church, now known as Pine Grove Chapel was built and a private
school conducted in the basement for the next twenty years.
History
tells of an Irish B&O brakeman whose ears were freezing from the very cold
air, which crosses Parr's Ridge. He
suggested that the name Mount Airy (Mt. Airy) would be appropriate.
The name met with the favor of the people and became the town's legal
name.
Thanks
to the B&O Railroad, the town grew considerably. During the late 1880's St. James Episcopal Church was
built, followed by the Methodist and Southern Methodist Churches.
Calvary United Methodist and St. Michael's Roman Catholic are two of
the larger churches in the Mt. Airy community today.
Because
of its proximity to the Baltimore/Washington metropolitan area, the three
county area in which St. James'
is
located has been experiencing a tremendous
population growth. The town
population of Mt. Airy has grown to 6,000 citizens in 2000. This represents an increase of 61% in the last ten years.
Many housing developments and shopping centers have been built in and
around the Mt. Airy area with even more growth anticipated.
Currently, there are over 8,000 households in the Mt. Airy zip code.
Consequently, St. James'
has been acquiring members constantly who tend to
be white collar and professional people who travel 45-60 minutes to their work
locations. The
surrounding Mt. Airy community is serviced by the public school systems of
Carroll, Frederick and Howard counties. Based
on annual statewide testing, these school systems are considered among the best
in Maryland. Even with the influx
of more businesses and residential development, Mt. Airy still maintains the
aura of a small town.
Within
a one-hour to four hour drive of Mt. Airy, are the Shenandoah Mountains,
Allegheny Mountains, Atlantic Ocean, Chesapeake Bay, Baltimore's Inner Harbor,
Washington, D.C., historic battlefields, Delaware, Virginia, West Virginia,
Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. Three
major airports are also within an hour drive of Mt. Airy.
This part of the country offers a wonderful variety of scenery from the
majestic mountains to the glorious sound of the rushing sea.
For
further information regarding the Town of Mt Airy, please visit their web site
at www.carr.lib.md.us/mtairy/
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P.O. Box 416