By Jack Seufert, M.A. ‘26, American Studies
This map of a modernizing Washington appeared in publisher Joseph Meyer’s 1845 Hand-Atlas. Originally published in Philadelphia, Hildburghausen, and Paris, the map shows, among other things, the route of Washington’s first official railroad. Built by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company, the track moved from the northeast into a depot on Pennsylvania Avenue and Second Street, connecting the National Mall to a growing network of railroad lines. The depot’s prime location shaped life in the city until its demolition in the early 20th century.
Rail transportation came to Washington in the 19th century as a logical extension of the nation’s developing infrastructure. To speed up transportation between Baltimore and the Ohio River, the Maryland legislature chartered the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in 1827. Over the next half-century, the railroad expanded into more than a dozen states. Soon, businesses and commercial goods from across the country were connected with the nation’s capital by a station at its heart.
The Baltimore and Ohio railroad opened its Washington Branch on August 25, 1835, providing fast, scenic and widespread access to D.C. At an event honoring the new line and depot on Pennsylvania Avenue, a diverse crowd of onlookers watched as four trains carried a thousand passengers and two bands in celebration. The trains traveled between Baltimore and Washington in two hours. Along the way, they crossed the Thomas Viaduct, then the country’s largest bridge. By the early 1850s, the Baltimore and Ohio railroad transported 150,000 passengers per year between Baltimore and Washington using six steam trains on its line. The railroad became so popular, it needed to expand.
Viaduct on Baltimore & Washington Railroad, c. 1858. Courtesy, Library of Congress.
After relocating to a new location on New Jersey Avenue, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad faced competition. In 1872 the Pennsylvania Railroad Company opened a station on Constitution Avenue. Unbeknownst to either company, the new station was the beginning of the end for railroads on the National Mall.
On July 2, 1881, tragedy struck. President James Garfield, departing for summer vacation, arrived at the Constitution Avenue station. Shortly thereafter, Charles Guiteau followed him and shot Garfield point blank. The president died two months later. After Garfield’s assassination, many Washingtonians called for the removal of railroads from the National Mall. By the early 20th century, they got their wish. Both the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad’s New Jersey Avenue station and Pennsylvania Railroad’s Constitution Avenue station were shut down in 1907 to relocate trains to Washington’s newly built Union Station.
The railroad line depicted on the Hand-Atlas‘s 1845 map may no longer cross the National Mall, but its role in Washington’s development is undeniable. Connecting D.C. to an expansive transportation network was one step in modernizing the city’s economy and infrastructure.
Bibliography
Ashworth, Marjorie. Glory Road: Pennsylvania Avenue Past and Present. Link Press, 1986.
Dilts, James D. Great Road: The Building of the Baltimore and Ohio, the Nation’s First Railroad, 1828-1853. Stanford University Press, 1993.
Jacobs, Timothy. The History of the Baltimore and Ohio: America’s First Railroad. Crescent Books, 1989.
Peskin, Allan. Garfield: A Biography. Kent State University Press, 1978.
Stover, John F. History of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. Purdue University Press, 1989.
This post was written in conjunction with the museum’s exhibition From A to DC: Transportation in Washington, an introduction to D.C.’s transportation history.
About the Author
Jack Seufert has a B.A. in English and history and is pursuing a master’s degree in American studies with a concentration in museums and material culture at GW. He enjoys researching historical artifacts and is interested in a public history career.