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Laurel History
Laurel's evolution
mirrors the growth and evolution of small industrial towns across
the Unites States. An 1811 grist mill evolved into an 1840's
cotton mill employing more than 700 workers. By the 1870's Laurel
was an early commuter town for people working in Baltimore and
Washington. Laurel had Prince George County's first public school,
its first national bank and first public library. It has the
country's oldest continuously operating volunteer fire department.
Always striving for
the independence that made it self-sufficient, Laurel once produced
its own electricity, boasted its own water works, and uncharacteristic
of small towns of the time, its own police force. As larger public
utilities grew and replaced such local identities as the water
and electrical works, Laurel always kept her small town identity.
The Mayor and City Council form of government continues, as does
the police department and other city services.
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