Located halfway between Washington, D.C. and Baltimore in Prince George's County, moving to Laurel means you'll have access to two major cities on the east coast. It originally started as a company town, as it was established in the 1860s for the Patuxent Manufacturing Company, which owned many of the establishments and services. Today, Laurel keeps its small-town appeal, and even maintains their own historic Main Street district, which has its own event (Main Street Festival) held every Mother's Day Weekend.
Economy:
The main economic force in the area today is the public sector, with the largest employers being the public school and university system. Originally, it was a company town, established by the growing Patuxent Manufacturing Company. Later on, people moved away from factory jobs, and into the service and government industry, making Laurel an ideal commuter town for people working in Washington D.C. The median household income for Laurel is fairly high for a city its size, coming in at $63,621.
Tourism:
History buffs will love Laurel, as it boasts many well-preserved sites and buildings, most of which are on the National Register of Historic Place. Avondale Mills Site commemorates the original mill, which was constructed in 1844 but burned down in 1991. Montpellier is a gorgeous Georgian country house built in 1781, where visitors can see the original architecture and fittings. Originally built in the 19th century, Savage Mill has been restored into a retail center. This historic complex of buildings has approximately 175,000 square feet of shops, cafes and other outlets. Nearby Patuxent River watershed provides facilities for hiking, biking and fishing.
History:
Laurel was incorporated as a town in 1870, but believe it or not its history began millions of years before that – dinosaurs from the Cretaceous era roamed the area and left their fossils for scientists to find, and the area has an abundance of fossilized remains from different eras. In modern times, however, Richard Snowden, an immigrant from Wales who arrived in 1658, played a big part in Laurel's history. "The Immigrant" as he was called, owned 10,000 acres of land, and settlers quickly came in droves. It was his grandson (also named Richard) who established the Patuxent Iron Works, and started the first of many of Maryland's industries, expanding into factories and mills. Generations of Snowdens contributed to the growth of the city from a factory town to the booming city it is today. The historic Montpellier is a house museum dedicated to the intertwined history of the city and the Snowdens.