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Southern Maryland is made up of a collection of peninsulas covered in low rolling hills, fields, forests, swamps, and waterways leading to the Potomac River and the Chesapeake Bay. As such, this area enjoyed relative isolation and small population for over three centuries despite its proximity to cities such as Alexandria, Annapolis, Baltimore, and Washington. Those who did settle here developed a close connection to its farms, waterways, and natural remoteness. Southern Maryland, known for the state's earliest Colonial settlements, is composed of three of the state's oldest counties: St. Mary's, Charles, and Calvert. Although largely agricultural and maritime in outlook, this region was also the birthplace of the nation's ideal of religious freedom and many of its greatest citizens, including leaders of the Revolution, the early national government, and the state. Many of their homes and churches survive as historic landmarks, or their existence has been documented and preserved for posterity.

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.