After serving as ambassador to Belgium, Thomas Green Clemson returned to the United States in 1853 and settled on 100 acres of farmland in what is now Mount Rainier.

Clemson built an octagonal-shaped house at the corner of Shepherd and 32nd streets, and sometime around then his family began using a nearby spring for water that can still be seen today at Mount Rainier’s Spring Park at 4016 33rd St.

When the Civil War broke out, Clemson and his family returned to South Carolina, and the farmhouse later burned down.

The land changed hands several times until the beginning of the 20th century, when developers began marketing Mount Rainier as a new community with the benefits of rural living and some modern amenities.

In practice, that meant unpaved streets with the occasional sidewalk, electricity and gas lines that were extended from Hyattsville, but no regular water or sewer service.

To get fresh water, homeowners in the community of Mount Rainier dug their own wells or got water from several public springs, including the old Clemson spring which still stands today at the corner of 33rd and Shepherd streets.

A well of sorts was built around the spring using large slabs of stone, some of which are still partially visible. Toward the middle of the 20th century, a three-sided brick-and-stone wellhead was built, which can also still be seen, although it is now capped.

The lot where the spring sits has long been a grassy public park, but earlier this year the city of Mount Rainier received a $50,000 grant to develop a “Peace Park” around it to make better use of the space.