A survey of Lexington Manor’s, (also known as “Flat Tops”) cultural heritage is being conducted by St. Mary’s County.
To date, the County has acquired the property, provided relocation assistance, and demolished all but two selected buildings for historical preservation. The survey project intends to seek out individuals who lived and worked in the Flat Tops/Lexington Manor from the 1940’s through the 2000’s.
A Flat Tops/Lexington Manor Historical Collection Session and Reunion is planned for Monday, June 11 at the Lexington Park Library from 2 to 6 p.m. Special remarks are planned for 4 p.m. to commemorate the occasion and recall the neighborhood’s cultural heritage.
If you can share stories or knowledge, artifacts, or photos about Flat Tops, because you lived, worked, maintained property or played there in the last 60 years, plan to attend this information gathering event. The county and the Maryland Historic Trust would like all former residents to bring photographs from their years at the Flat Tops to be copied for possible inclusion in the project.
With the involvement of Maryland Historic Trust and a team of folklorists, St. Mary’s County hopes to identify and document numerous aspects of life in the Flat Tops for deposit with the Maryland Historical Trust Library, Lexington Park Library, and the Patuxent River Naval Aviation Museum.
The Flat Tops was once a bustling neighborhood in the 1940’s as flocks of test pilots, engineers and their families relocated to St. Mary’s County to work at the brand new Naval Air Station Patuxent River.
Over the decades, the neighborhood declined and the property was eventually purchased by St. Mary’s County Government, with assistance from state and federal funds, to ease the blight and to prevent encroachment upon the expanding Naval Air Station. Remaining residents received assistance and were all relocated.
All but two of the homes have been demolished and the larger, southern piece of land will be preserved as open space. The northern parcel of land is slated for a commercial development. The two remaining homes will be preserved and interpretative signage is being designed to remind visitors of the once vigorous community.
An oral history is being compiled to capture the history of this significant story. All former residents and those who worked there are invited to attend the Historical Collection Session & Reunion on June 11. For more information, please contact Cynthia DellaGatta, Economic Development Coordinator, St. Mary’s County Dept of Economic Development, at 301-475-4200, ext. 1408, or cynthia.dellagatta@stmarysmd.com.