Mount Rainier began its history as an incorporated town in1910, with the merging of several subdivisions that straddledBunker Hill Road, a major route between the ports of Georgetownand Bladensburg. Before the Civil War, Thomas and Anna Clemsonowned a 100-acre farm that fronted on that important road. Theirfamily letters provide some of the earliest writings about the area. In1891, Elizabeth and Estcourt Sawyer purchased the Clemson farmand named their subdivision Mount Rainier. In 1899, the real estatebecame especially attractive to commuters when the District ofColumbia's streetcar system was extended through the heart of thepresent-day city; that route, now known as Rhode Island Avenue, laterbecame part of US Route 1.