Mount Rainier

Mount Rainier began its history as an incorporated town in

1910, with the merging of several subdivisions that straddled

Bunker Hill Road, a major route between the ports of Georgetown

and Bladensburg. Before the Civil War, Thomas and Anna Clemson

owned a 100-acre farm that fronted on that important road. Their

family letters provide some of the earliest writings about the area. In

1891, Elizabeth and Estcourt Sawyer purchased the Clemson farm

and named their subdivision Mount Rainier. In 1899, the real estate

became especially attractive to commuters when the District of

Columbia's streetcar system was extended through the heart of the

present-day city; that route, now known as Rhode Island Avenue, later

became part of US Route 1.