Is there really a silver spring in Silver Spring, MD?

Long before ever visiting Maryland, I had heard that there was an area there called Silver Spring. Silver Spring is considered to be part of the metro Washington DC area. Perhaps this area is so well known because it is one of Maryland’s largest. If you were not already aware, Silver Spring ranks second in Maryland when it comes to population. (Maryland's most populous city is Baltimore, but you probably knew that already.)

When you live in the area, it is easy to take the name "Silver Spring" for granted. But for someone who is new to the area one of your first questions about Silver Spring is probably about the meaning of its name. Is there really some spring that spouts forth silver? Is it even possible for a spring to even have silver in it in the first place?

Well, there is a spring that inspired the name of Silver Spring, but we can't exactly say that it is a place to look for silver.

In 1840, Frances Preston Blair, along with his daughter, Elizabeth, discovered a spring that contained mica in it. Mica is a mineral, and at times it does glitter. Glittering mica in a spring could resemble silver in the right light. So it is likely that the spring filed with mica got its name that way. It also might have been wishful thinking; a hope that the glitter was actually silver, a precious metal.  Imagine his

Despite that fact that there was not spring actually filled with silver, Blair bought the land surrounding the spring anyway and built a home there.

Silver Spring is an unincorporated area, so it is technically not a city. Although there are some boundaries that govern where Silver Spring starts and other areas end, it is in some ways a town without limits. So, Silver Spring has no silver, but it also has no limits.

In contrast, you likely have silver and think that you are somehow limited, but you are not. If you want to sell silver, you can sell anything you have that is made of silver: silver cuff links, silver teapots, one tiny silver earring, a broken silver bracelet. It does not matter. Sell as much silver as you want and get money for silver from a silver buyer.