Annapolis Junction, Maryland

Last updated

Annapolis Junction, Maryland
Annapolis Junction station circa 1900.jpg
USA Maryland location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Annapolis Junction
Location within the U.S. state of Maryland
Usa edcp location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Annapolis Junction
Annapolis Junction (the United States)
Coordinates: 39°7′26″N76°47′31″W / 39.12389°N 76.79194°W / 39.12389; -76.79194
CountryUnited States of America
State Maryland
Counties Anne Arundel, Howard
Time zone UTC−5 (Eastern (EST))
  Summer (DST) UTC−4 (EDT)
Zip code
20701

Annapolis Junction is an unincorporated community in Howard and Anne Arundel counties, Maryland, United States.

Contents

Demographics

The ZIP Code for Annapolis Junction is 20701. The following information is based on the 2000 Census for 20701: [1] [2]

History

The lands of Annapolis Junction were first settled around 1650. Provincial Assembly of Maryland member and Anne Arundel County Justice Colonel Henry Ridgely (1645-1710) surveyed the land around Annapolis Junction and nearby Savage Mill in 1685 naming the tract "Ridgely's Forrest". [3] [4]

An 1848 vintage 0-8-0 Locomotive. B&O 0-8-0 locomotive 57 (1848).jpg
An 1848 vintage 0-8-0 Locomotive.

Annapolis Junction was established as a rail junction on the north-south mainline of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) when the tracks of the Annapolis and Elk Ridge Railroad terminated here in 1840. Since this provided a rail route to Annapolis from Washington and Baltimore via the B&O, it was, therefore, a junction to Annapolis. On August 26, 1844 the Annapolis Junction post office opened. [5] [6]

On May 1, 1844, in a small wooden building along the railroad tracks, the first practical news telegram was sent from Annapolis Junction. The message, from Alfred Vail to Samuel F. B. Morse, announced that the Whig Party candidate would be Henry Clay, and his running mate would be Theodore Frelinghuysen. The candidates left Annapolis Junction by train, and arrived in Washington to find the news was already being announced in the city by the local papers. [7]

Annapolis Junction is the site of William Bowie's home Grassland, built in 1853.

Annapolis Junction in the Civil War

Located along the B&O Railroad, the main East Coast thoroughfare for North-South freight railroad traffic and the only rail line into Washington, Annapolis Junction was witness to the comings and goings of the Civil War.

Traveling in secret to avoid an assassination plot in Baltimore, Abraham Lincoln passed through Annapolis Junction en route to Washington for his 1861 inauguration. [8]

During the war, George G. Latchford owned and operated a large hotel, known as the Howard House, along the B&O Railroad tracks.

General Butler recounts: "In route to Washington D.C. we could not sail into the Potomac, and the rail line from Annapolis to Annapolis Junction was the only route in. Troops were unwelcome in Annapolis, finding reluctance to provide provisions, and locomotives disabled to prevent their travel." [9]

The 7th New York Militia, and the Fifth German Regiment under Col Schwartzwaelder, [10] arrived in May 1861. The soldiers slept on wet ground, were lacking equipment and even boots. Their meals consisted of hard biscuits, tough meat, and "salt beyond description." Monthly pay was $11, but the paymaster did not have any money to give out. Col. Zadock Pratt delivered 6 firkins of his own butter, and his wife gave $250 of her own money to the troops. [11]

In August, 1861, $4975 in goods were seized at Annapolis Junction from southern sympathizers in Baltimore. [12]

Brig.-Gen. John C. Robinson commanded troops guarding the B&O railroad in 1862. The First Michigan Regiment was assigned to the sections south of Annapolis Junction, and the Tenth Maine Regiment was posted for points north. [13]

In 1863, Annapolis Junction formed the northern boundary of coverage for the XXII Corps (Union Army) Department of Washington, and became the rendezvous point for drafted men from Maryland. In July, 1863, a large force of Fitzhugh Lee's Cavalry was thought to have struck the rail lines. [14]

The tracks were guarded from June to July 1864 by the 144th Ohio Infantry. The guard of 100 troops reportedly fled when a small band of rebels were within 12 miles (19 km) of the vicinity. [15] In a letter to the editor, on July 24, 1864, the writer complains that the 65 troops did not run off, but instead were following orders of Mag Gen. Ord to leave the area before the arrival of the entire rebel army. [16]

Post Civil War

In the age of rail, presidential sightings were common in town. In June 1867, President Andrew Johnson met with Maryland Governor Andrew Swan at Annapolis Junction where he received the resolutions of the Maryland Constitutional Convention. [17]

In 1867, the First Regiment of the Lincoln Zouaves Corps de Afrique held a political rally at Annapolis Junction with 400 musketmen listening to radical speeches from J.J Stewart, Judge Bond, and others. [18]

On June 12, 1869, a northbound train struck a wandering cow at Annapolis Junction, derailing and injuring 30 passengers. The train was a night express carrying President Ulysses S. Grant, his wife, and the Secretary of Treasury George S. Boutwell, who all escaped uninjured. [19]

On 29 November 1871, the Annapolis Junction post office moved to the Howard County side of the railroad tracks. [5]

In May, 1899, The National Junior Republic was founded as an institution for troubled 15- to 20-year-olds. By 1914, the facility housed 44 inmates. [20] [21] By 1924, the site was abandoned and overgrown. [22]

World War I

In June, 1917, Secretary of War Newton D. Baker announced that 17,000 acres (69 km2) would be bought at Annapolis Junction to accommodate a National Army Cantonment to train 40,000 to 60,000 men for at least one year. [23] The encampment would eventually become Fort George G. Meade. On October 7, 1919, the post office for Annapolis Junction moved back to the Anne Arundel side of the tracks, only to return to Howard County in September 1921. [5]

Post WWI

After the establishment of Fort Meade, Annapolis Junction was sometime referred to as Fort Meade Junction. [24]

Post WWII

No longer an actual railroad junction, Annapolis Junction has developed into a town with four major features. The historic and still busy CSX (former B&O) railroad line runs north to south, Maryland Route 32 runs east to west, various office warehouses lie to the west, and facilities relating to Fort Meade lie to the east. Although a historic location, Annapolis Junction is now mostly zoned industrial, and overshadowed by nearby Fort Meade.

The National Cryptologic Museum's GPS address and physical location is usually referred to as "Annapolis Junction", though its mailing address is maintained by NSA.

Few residents call Annapolis Junction "home," more frequently associating themselves with adjacent Savage, its southern neighbor Laurel, or Fort Meade.

Annapolis Junction also serves as the location of the rail transfer facility that moves Howard County's waste to King George County, Virginia. [25]

The State of Maryland built a park and ride MARC Train commuter platform near the original Annapolis Junction station, called Savage MARC. In 2014, Howard County executive Ken Ulman announced that the park and ride land would be sold to private developers in order to increase the tax base. Howard County provided $17 million to build a 700 unit parking garage onsite. [26] The 416 unit apartment complex project was renamed to Annapolis Junction Town Center. [27] The facility is next to the 200 bus capacity Regional Transportation Agency of Central Maryland terminal building constructed the same year.

Government and infrastructure

The Federal Bureau of Prisons operates its Mid-Atlantic Regional Office in Annapolis Junction. [28]

Economy

Colfax Corporation a major welding, air and gas handling equipment, and medical devices manufacturer is based in Annapolis Junction.

Notable person

Stephen Latchford was a United States diplomat and expert in aviation laws.[ citation needed ]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anne Arundel County, Maryland</span> County in Maryland, United States

Anne Arundel County, also notated as AA or A.A. County, is located in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 United States census, its population was 588,261, an increase of just under 10% since 2010. Its county seat is Annapolis, which is also the capital of the state. The county is named for Anne Arundell, Lady Baltimore, a member of the ancient family of Arundells in Cornwall, England, and the wife of Cecilius Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore (1605–1675), founder and first lord proprietor of the colony Province of Maryland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fort Meade, Maryland</span> Census-designated place in Maryland, United States

Fort Meade is a census-designated place (CDP) in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, United States. The population was 9,327 at the 2010 census. It is the home to the National Security Agency, Central Security Service, United States Cyber Command and the Defense Information Systems Agency, which are located on the U.S. Army post Fort George G. Meade.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Odenton, Maryland</span> Census-designated place in Maryland, U.S.

Odenton is a census-designated place (CDP) in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, United States, located approximately 10–20 minutes from the state capital, Annapolis. The population was 37,132 at the 2010 census, up from 20,534 at the 2000 census. The town's population growth rate of 80.8% between 2000 and 2010 was the greatest of any town in western Anne Arundel County. Odenton is located west of Annapolis, south of Baltimore, and northeast of Washington.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baltimore and Ohio Railroad</span> Rail system in the United States of America

The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was the first common carrier railroad and the oldest railroad in the United States with its first section opening in 1830. Merchants from Baltimore, which had benefited to some extent from the construction of the National Road early in the century, wanted to do business with settlers crossing the Appalachian Mountains. The railroad faced competition from several existing and proposed enterprises, including the Albany-Schenectady Turnpike, built in 1797, the Erie Canal, which opened in 1825, and the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal. At first, the B&O was located entirely in the state of Maryland; its original line extending from the port of Baltimore west to Sandy Hook, Maryland, opened in 1834. There it connected with Harper's Ferry, first by boat, then by the Wager Bridge, across the Potomac River into Virginia, and also with the navigable Shenandoah River.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baltimore–Washington Parkway</span> Highway in Maryland, United States

The Baltimore–Washington Parkway is a limited-access highway in the U.S. state of Maryland, running southwest from Baltimore to Washington, D.C. The road begins at an interchange with U.S. Route 50 (US 50) near Cheverly in Prince George's County at the Washington, D.C. border, and continues northeast as a parkway maintained by the National Park Service (NPS) to MD 175 near Fort Meade, serving many federal institutions. This portion of the parkway is dedicated to Gladys Noon Spellman, a representative of Maryland's 5th congressional district, and has the unsigned Maryland Route 295 (MD 295) designation. Commercial vehicles, including trucks, are prohibited within this stretch. This section is administered by the NPS's Greenbelt Park unit. After leaving park service boundaries the highway is maintained by the state and signed with the MD 295 designation. This section of the parkway passes near Baltimore–Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport. Upon entering Baltimore, the Baltimore Department of Transportation takes over maintenance of the road and it continues north to an interchange with Interstate 95 (I-95). Here, the Baltimore–Washington Parkway ends and MD 295 continues north unsigned on Russell Street, which carries the route north into downtown Baltimore. In downtown Baltimore, MD 295 follows Paca Street northbound and Greene Street southbound before ending at US 40.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baltimore riot of 1861</span> Civil riot against Union troops early in the American Civil War

The Baltimore riot of 1861 was a civil conflict on Friday, April 19, 1861, on Pratt Street, in Baltimore, Maryland. It occurred between antiwar "Copperhead" Democrats and other Southern/Confederate sympathizers on one side, and on the other, members of Massachusetts and Pennsylvania state militia regiments en route to the national capital at Washington who had been called up for federal service. The fighting began at the President Street Station, spreading throughout President Street and subsequently to Howard Street, where it ended at the Camden Street Station. The riot produced the first deaths of Union volunteers by hostile action, although caused by civilians, in the American Civil War. Civilians among the attackers also were killed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Lee Carroll</span> American politician (1830–1911)

John Lee Carroll, a member of the United States Democratic Party, was the 37th Governor of Maryland from 1876 to 1880.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George William Brown (mayor)</span> Mayor of Baltimore, Maryland, from 1860 to 1861

George William Brown was an American politician, judge and academic. He was mayor of Baltimore from 1860 to 1861, professor in University of Maryland School of Law, and 2nd Chief Judge and Supreme Bench of Baltimore City. He was founder and president of the Bar Association of Baltimore City and the Library Company of the Baltimore Bar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maryland Route 175</span> State highway in Howard and Anne Arundel Counties, Maryland, U.S.

Maryland Route 175 is a state highway in the U.S. state of Maryland. The highway runs 17.01 miles (27.37 km) from Little Patuxent Parkway in Columbia east to MD 3 in Millersville. MD 175 is a major highway through the large unincorporated community of Columbia; the highway connects U.S. Route 29 next to Columbia Town Center with Interstate 95 (I-95) and an industrial area on the eastern side of Howard County. MD 175 also connects Fort Meade with Jessup and Odenton in western Anne Arundel County, where it links MD 295 and MD 32 with the eastern part of the U.S. Army base.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maryland Route 170</span> State highway in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, United States

Maryland Route 170 is a state highway in the U.S. state of Maryland. The state highway runs 12.98 miles (20.89 km) from MD 175 in Odenton north to MD 2 in Brooklyn Park. MD 170 connects the western Anne Arundel County communities of Odenton and Severn and the North County communities of Linthicum, Pumphrey, and Brooklyn Park with Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport. The highway connects BWI Airport with Interstate 695 (I-695) and MD 100 and forms part of the Airport Loop, a circumferential highway that connects the airport and I-195 with many airport-related services.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maryland in the American Civil War</span> States participation as a Union slave state; a border state

During the American Civil War (1861–1865), Maryland, a slave state, was one of the border states, straddling the South and North. Despite some popular support for the cause of the Confederate States of America, Maryland did not secede during the Civil War. Governor Thomas H. Hicks, despite his early sympathies for the South, helped prevent the state from seceding.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Annapolis and Elk Ridge Railroad</span>

The Annapolis and Elk Ridge Railroad, later the Annapolis, Washington and Baltimore Railroad, once provided rail service to Annapolis, Maryland, and was one of the earliest railroads in the U.S. It later merged into the Washington, Baltimore and Annapolis Electric Railway and was finally abandoned. The only traces of it today are a few small sidings and utility poles that follow its former right of way.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baltimore and Annapolis Railroad</span> Defunct railway line in Maryland, US

The Baltimore & Annapolis Railroad was an American railroad of central Maryland built in the 19th century. The railroad, the second to serve Annapolis, ran between Annapolis and Clifford along the north shore of the Severn River. From Clifford, just north of the present day Patapsco Light Rail Stop, it connected with the B&O's Curtis Bay branch so that trains could travel to Baltimore. In 1921, when it was called the Annapolis and Baltimore Short Line, it was purchased by the larger Washington, Baltimore and Annapolis Electric Railway (WB&A), and then emerged from the WB&A's 1935 bankruptcy and closure as the Baltimore & Annapolis Railroad. B&A electric passenger operation between the two cities continued until 1950, at which time the rail line became solely a freight carrier, operating buses for passenger service. Freight service to Annapolis continued until June 1968 when the Severn River Trestle was declared unsafe. In the 1980s, the line was completely shut down. The right-of-way now serves as part of Baltimore's light rail system and as the Baltimore & Annapolis Trail.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Camden Station</span> Legacy passenger rail stop in Baltimore, Maryland, US

Camden Station, now also referred to as Camden Street Station, Camden Yards, and formally as the Transportation Center at Camden Yards, is a train station at the intersection of South Howard and West Camden Streets in Baltimore, Maryland, and is adjacent to Oriole Park at Camden Yards, behind the B&O Warehouse. It is served by MARC commuter rail service and local Light Rail trains. Camden Street Station was originally built beginning in 1856, continuing until 1865, by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad as its main passenger terminal and early offices/ headquarters in Baltimore and is one of the longest continuously-operated terminals in the United States. Its upstairs offices were the workplace of famous Civil War era B&O President John Work Garrett (1820–1884). The station and its environs were also the site of several infamous civil strife actions of the 19th century with the Baltimore riot of 1861, on April 18–19, also known as the Pratt Street Riots and later labor strife in the Great Railroad Strike of 1877.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Savage station</span> MARC Camden Line rail station in Maryland, US

Savage is a passenger rail station on the MARC Camden Line between Union Station and Baltimore's Camden Station. It is officially located at 9009 Dorsey Run Road in Savage, Maryland, however Dorsey Run Road runs over the railroad tracks as well as Brock Bridge Road, which runs along the south side of the tracks and is a street-level with the station. The station straddles the line between Howard County and Anne Arundel County, with the southbound platform and parking garage located in Howard County and the northbound platform in Anne Arundel County.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Washington, Baltimore and Annapolis Electric Railway</span>

The Washington, Baltimore and Annapolis Electric Railway (WB&A) was an American railroad of central Maryland and Washington, D.C., built in the 19th and 20th century. The WB&A absorbed two older railroads, the Annapolis and Elk Ridge Railroad and the Baltimore & Annapolis Short Line, and added its own electric streetcar line between Baltimore and Washington. It was built by a group of Cleveland, Ohio, electric railway entrepreneurs to serve as a high-speed, showpiece line using the most advanced technology of the time. It served Washington, Baltimore, and Annapolis, Maryland, for 27 years before the "Great Depression" and the rise of the automobile forced an end to passenger service during the economic pressures of the 1930s "Depression" southwest to Washington from Baltimore & west from Annapolis in 1935. Only the Baltimore & Annapolis portion between the state's largest city and its state capital continued to operate electric rail cars for another two decades, replaced by a bus service during the late 1950s into 1968. Today, parts of the right-of-way are used for the light rail line, rail trail for hiking - biking trails, and roads through Anne Arundel County.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Whiskey Bottom Road</span> Historic road north of Laurel, Maryland, U.S.

Whiskey Bottom Road is a historic road north of Laurel, Maryland that traverses Anne Arundel and Howard Counties in an area that was first settled by English colonists in the mid-1600s. The road was named in the 1880s in association with one of its residents delivering whiskey after a prohibition vote. With increased residential development after World War II, it was designated a collector road in the 1960s; a community center and park are among the most recent roadside developments.

The Adjutant General of Maryland is the head military official of the Maryland National Guard, the Maryland Defense Force, and any other military or paramilitary units that may be maintained by the State of Maryland. The adjutant general is responsible for the military department's budget and maintains all State-owned armories in Maryland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hanover Junction Railroad Station</span> United States historic place

The Hanover Junction Railroad Station is an historic railroad station which is located in Hanover Junction in North Codorus Township, York County, Pennsylvania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">5th New York State Militia</span> Military unit

The 5th New York State Militia was a New York State militia, organized in 1861 in New York City, under Colonel C. Schwarzwaelder, Lieutenant Colonel Louis Burger and Major George Van Amsberg. The regiment's primary language was German. It offered its services to the state on 16 April 1861. Although the regiment was originally organized as artillery, it was assigned to the infantry.

References

  1. "US Census". Archived from the original on October 7, 2010. Retrieved October 7, 2010.
  2. "20701 (Annapolis Junction MD)". USA: ZIPskinny. Retrieved June 25, 2014.
  3. Joshua Dorsey Warfield. The founders of Anne Arundel and Howard Counties, Maryland. p. 78.
  4. Colonial Dames of America. Ancestral Records and Portraits: A Compilation from the Archives Volume 1. p. 255.
  5. 1 2 3 "Maryland Post Offices" (PDF). National Postal Museum. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 15, 2013. Retrieved May 17, 2014.
  6. Barbara W Feaga. Howard's Roads to the Past. p. 84.
  7. The Century; a popular quarterly. The Century Company. July 1888. p. 475.
  8. Ted Widmer. Lincoln on the Verge. p. 422.
  9. "Letter From General Butler". The New York Times. January 12, 1883.
  10. "From the Relay House". The New York Times . May 11, 1861.
  11. "From the Twentieth (N.Y.) Regiment". The New York Times. May 29, 1861.
  12. "The Great Rebellion". The New York Times. August 18, 1861.
  13. "The Railroad Guard". The Baltimore Sun . January 10, 1862.
  14. "The Latest from the States". The Newfoundlander. July 2, 1863. p. 2.
  15. "The Raid; Final Flight of the Enemy". The New York Times. July 15, 1864.
  16. "The Evacuation of Annapolis Junction". The New York Times. July 21, 1864.
  17. "The President's Tour". The New York Times. June 22, 1867. p. 1.
  18. "POLITICAL ITEMS". The New York Times. August 5, 1867.
  19. "The Railroad Accident". The New York Times. June 12, 1861. p. 1.
  20. "National Junior Republic; Third Year of Its Existence Celebrated at Annapolis Junction". The New York Times. May 31, 1902.
  21. Public Health Service. Report of the Federal Security Agency: Public Health Service By United States.
  22. "Junior Republic Grounds Once Directed By Boys, Now Given Up To Weeds Annapolis Junction Community Was Active Decade Ago With Youths Living Golden Rule". The Baltimore Sun. November 23, 1924.
  23. "Annapolis Junction". The Daily Star. June 12, 1917. p. 7.
  24. "Fort Meade ME Church Founded in '64 Celebrates". The Afro American . October 24, 1931. p. 18.
  25. "Howard County's Trash makes a pit stop in Annapolis Junction". The Baltimore Sun. March 7, 1997.
  26. Sherman, Natalie (June 6, 2014). "After delays, transit-oriented development starts to arrive". The Baltimore Sun.
  27. "Officials break ground on $180 million Transit Oriented Development Project". June 10, 2014.
  28. "Mid-Atlantic Regional Office". USA: Federal Bureau of Prisons . Retrieved June 9, 2015. "302 SENTINEL DRIVE ANNAPOLIS JUNCT, MD 20701"