Ye Coole Springs

Ye Coole Springs. Three Notch Trail. Legends of healing waters in St. Mary's came from the Native Americans and the colonists who believed in the therapeutic properties of the fresh water springs at Charlotte Hall. Around 1698, Governor Thomas Nicholson appointed trustees to purchase land called Ye Coole Springs for houses to be built for the care of the sick and infirm., Many believe Ye Coole Springs was the site of the first hospital in Maryland and the second in the English colonies., A gateway to the springs was erected by the Francis Scott Key Chapter of the D.A.R. and bronze panels were placed in remembrance of distinguished Marylanders. Several natural springs still exist on the site today; however, drinking from the springs is not recommended., Rail History 1868, The Southern Maryland Railroad was incorporated on March 20, 1868. Original plans called for the line to extend from Washington, D.C. to the deep water ports of the lower Chesapeake Bay with branches to the Patuxent and St. Mary's Rivers. By 1881, despite financial and other difficulties along the way, the rail line began service from Brandywine to Mechanicsville. By 1884, the line consisted of twenty-one miles of track.