Some people say that a family of Mexicans was crossing the Potomac River from the area near present day Wiley Ford, West Virginia, when their wagon broke down. They fixed it on the Maryland side, stayed a little while….and the spot become known as ‘Mexico Farms.’ That’s what some people say.
Others tell the story of a settlement of Mexicans who came here years ago and attempted to raise tobacco in the vicinity. The crop failed continuously, and they moved on. Many of the farms have turned up Terra Cotta tiles or pipes, which folks believe the Mexicans may have used to drain the fields. Lots of folks believe this is where the name ‘Mexico Farms’ originated.
Here are some researched facts from which you can draw your own conclusion:
Dave Dorsey of the Allegany County Planning Office provided access to his records including a file on Historic Sites Survey of this area. Way back in 1812 this land was first purchased by a man named John Burbridge. The site consisted of several tracts of land known as ‘Cresap’s Kindness’, ‘Dispute’, ‘Cow Pasture’, and ‘Conclusion.’ Burbridge combined all these tracts, and called it ‘Mexico.’
By 1822, Mr. Burbridge was in debt and sold his farm to Mr. Edward Day, which with the above parcels and some other vacant lands totaled 1,292 acres. Also included in the purchase were 4 slaves, 12 horses, 20 sacks of wheat, 1,500 bushels of Indian corn, 300 bushels of oats, and an entire crop of tobacco.
So, why did he call it Mexico? If you look in your history books, you will see that Mexico declared its independence from Spain in 1821, but the country was still having a tough time with internal fighting and other problems. The Mexican struggle for independence was a big deal in the United States, and had a great deal of popular support over some years. That could well be the reason for the name.
It is also interesting to note that at the beginning of the 1800’s, former Vice President Aaron Burr (serving as V/P from 1801-1805) schemed to invade Mexico, and set himself up as the head of an empire that would stretch from the Ohio River to Mexico. He failed, of course, and was tried for treason in 1807, and was acquitted. Along with attempting to detach our western (at that time) states, Burr is also known for killing Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton in a duel. It is very possible that Burbridge ‘may’ have thought of this farm as his ‘Empire’, and thus the name ‘Mexico.’
The ‘Mexico Farm’ is located about four driving miles south of Cumberland, and just north of the Mexico Farms road. The Mexico Farms Airfield is located on this farm land and has a long history. The airfield was officially established in 1923 and used by the Army Air Service (renamed the Army Air Corps in 1926) to satisfy the need to have emergency landing fields at points west of Washington. It served that very purpose as General Billy Mitchell in 1925, Colonel Charles Lindbergh in 1929, and Wiley Post in 1933 made unplanned stops at Mexico Farms Airfield.
(Compiled from information courtesy of Al Feldstein, Maryland Office of Planning).
Aerial shots of the Johnson farm just to the east of the Government Field as it was in 1929, and the Mexico Farms Airfield during a Fly-In in 1980.
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Wings Over Cumberland 