Maryland Historical Trust
Maryland Inventory of
Historic Properties Form
1. Name of Property
Inventory No. PG: 82B-005
(indicate preferred name)
Chesapeake Beach Railway Bridge
historic
other
2. Location
street and number
Patuxent River at Mount Calvert
not for publication
city, town
Upper Marlboro
vicinity
county
Prince George's
3. Owner of Property
(give names and mailing addresses of all owners)
name
Maryland Department of Natural Resources
street and number
580 Taylor Avenue
city, town
Annapolis
state
MD
telephone
1.877.620.8367
zip code
21401
4. Location of Legal Description
courthouse, registry of deeds, etc. Prince George's County Courthouse
Upper Marlboro
city, town
tax map 0111E-4 tax parcel
liber
n/a
n/a folio n/a
tax ID number 0263533, 0263541
5. Primary Location of Additional Data
X
Contributing Resource in National Register District
Contributing Resource in Local Historic District
Determined Eligible for the National Register/Maryland Register
Determined Ineligible for the National Register/Maryland Register
Recorded by HABS/HAER
Historic Structure Report or Research Report at MHT
Other: Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, Prince George's County Planning Department
6. Classification
Category
district
building(s)
X structure
site
object
Ownership
X public
private
both
Current Function
agriculture
commerce/trade
defense
domestic
education
funerary
government
health care
industry
Resource Count
landscape
recreation/culture
religion
social
transportation
work in progress
unknown
X vacant/not in use
other:
Contributing
1
1
Noncontributing
buildings
sites
structures
objects
0
Total
Number of Contributing Resources
previously listed in the Inventory
1
7. Description
Inventory No. PG: 82B-005
Condition
excellent
good
fair
deteriorated
X ruins
altered
Prepare both a one paragraph summary and a comprehensive description of the resource and its various elements as it
exists today.
The Chesapeake Beach Railway Bridge once span approximately 400 feet of the Patuxent River south of Mount
Calvert, Maryland. Constructed in 1898 by the Youngstown Bridge Company, the single-line swing span
railway bridge ran east-west.1 The area surrounding the site of the bridge consists of marshlands, agricultural
fields, and forestland. The Patuxent River flows southeasterly from the middle of the state, past Laurel and
forms the border between Prince George’s and Anne Arundel County. It empties into the Chesapeake Bay at the
town of Solomon’s, Maryland.
BRIDGE
The Chesapeake Beach Railway Bridge is currently a ruin. At the time of the 2007 on-site survey, the wood
swing span bridge’s pivot pier was the only extant segment of the bridge.
INTEGRITY
The Chesapeake Beach Railway Bridge retains no level of integrity. The bridge span is no longer extant. The
only extant part of the structure is the pivot pier, located in the middle of the Patuxent River. The bridge does
not retain any integrity of association, feeling, location, workmanship, material, and design. The bridge retains a
low integrity of setting, as the area surrounding the site of the bridge remains rural. Marshlands line the
Patuxent River while the surrounding land is a mix of agricultural fields and forest. The Chesapeake Beach
Railway Bridge does not retain sufficient integrity to convey the characteristics for which it is significant.
1
“Railroad Notes,” Prince George’s Enquirer (20 May 1898).
8. Significance
Period
Areas of Significance
1600-1699
1700-1799
X 1800-1899
1900-1999
2000-
agriculture
archeology
architecture
art
commerce
communications
community planning
conservation
Specific dates
1898
Construction dates
1898
Inventory No. PG: 82B-005
Check and justify below
economics
education
engineering
entertainment/
recreation
ethnic heritage
exploration/
settlement
health/medicine
performing arts
industry
philosophy
invention
politics/government
landscape architecture
religion
law
science
literature
social history
maritime history
X transportation
military
other:
Architect/Builder
Youngstown Bridge Company
Evaluation for:
National Register
Maryland Register
not evaluated
Prepare a one-paragraph summary statement of significance addressing applicable criteria, followed by a narrative discussion of the
history of the resource and its context. (For compliance projects, complete evaluation on a DOE Form – see manual.)
STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE
Constructed in 1898 by the Youngstown Bridge Company, the Chesapeake Beach Railway Bridge is notable as
a component of the railway line that connected Washington, D.C. with Chesapeake Beach, Maryland. An
integral part of the Chesapeake Beach Railway, herein referred to as CBR, the bridge facilitated the
development of the resort town of Chesapeake Beach.
HISTORIC CONTEXT
The site of the Chesapeake Beach Railway Bridge is located in eastern Prince George’s County, approximately
three miles to the southeast of Upper Marlboro and directly east of the Mount Calvert Historical and
Archaeological Site. The advent of the railroad in the early nineteenth century and the subsequent advancements
made during the nineteenth century made it possible for more middle-class Americans to travel. It also provided
an efficient mode of distribution of agricultural and commercial products throughout the country. The railroad
effectively enhanced the ease and reduced the cost for many people to take weekend vacations, as was
commonplace for Washington, D.C. residents at the end of the eighteenth century.
The Washington and Chesapeake Beach Railway Corporation owned 718 acres of land on the Chesapeake Bay
on which the resort town of Chesapeake Beach was built.2 The new resort town would offer the citizens of
Washington, D.C. a beach resort community in close proximity that would rival Newport, Rhode Island.3 The
Washington and Chesapeake Beach began construction of the railway that would link Chesapeake Beach with
the growing population of Washington, D.C.
In 1896, the newly formed CBR took over operations of the railway and resort construction. Led by established
Colorado railway builder Otto Mears, the CBR set out to complete the project. Mears immigrated to America
from Russia in 1880 and quickly began establishing himself as a preeminent president of his railway and toll
2
3
Susan G. Pearl, “Railroads in Prince George’s County, 1835-1935” Historic Contexts in Prince George’s County (1991), 45.
Susan G. Pearl, “Railroads in Prince George’s County, 1835-1935” Historic Contexts in Prince George’s County (1991), 45.
Maryland Historical Trust
Maryland Inventory of
Historic Properties Form
Inventory No. 82B-005
Chesapeake Beach Railway Bridge
Continuation Sheet
Number 8
Page 1
road company. Before completion of the Chesapeake Beach Railway line Mr. Mears completed several railway
lines in Colorado, the most notable being the Silverton Railroad and the Rio Grande Southern. The Rio Grande
Southern was built by Mears in 1890 to reach the rich mining districts of Telluride and Rico.4
The Washington and Chesapeake Beach Railway Corporation was formed in 1891 and by 1894 granted a
charter to incorporate the town of Chesapeake Beach. The plans of the W&CBR were never implemented, and
in 1896 Otto Mears formed the CBR. The CBR came about as a means to transport people and goods from
Washington, D.C. to Chesapeake Beach and points between. His plan was popular as many landowners deeded
a right-of-way through their properties for the railway.5 In all, fifty landowners in Prince George’s County
either deeded property or granted a right-of-way to the Chesapeake Beach Railroad Company from 1891-1915.
Mears’ vision of providing rail service to Chesapeake Beach became a reality on June 9, 1900 when the first
train arrived in Chesapeake Beach from Washington, D.C.6 From 1900 until 1930 Chesapeake Beach was a
thriving independent community. People came for day trips by railway and steamboats. The resort town offered
roller coasters, a boardwalk, and the amenity of swimming in the Chesapeake Bay. Overnight visitors could stay
in the luxurious Belvedere Hotel, which was built c. 1900.7
The Chesapeake Beach Railway Bridge was a single-line bridge constructed of wood. The Youngstown Bridge
Company was commissioned to build and install the swing span bridge across the Patuxent River, just southeast
of the historic site of Mount Calvert.8 In the flat Tidewater region, where elevation drops are not so large, wood
was still the best available material.9 Wood had primarily given way to metal as the preferred material of choice
in bridge construction. Steel offered the convenience of increased strength and longevity with reduced weight.
This did not sway the CBR though, as wood was cheap and plentiful, and hence the material of choice for all
CBR bridges.10 Multiple bridges were built on the CBR that spanned waterways, low areas, and roads. For the
soft muddy soil of the Tidewater region, short timber-beam spans still seemed the best choice.11
4
John Humphrey, "Rio Grande Southern - History," Science Today (20 October 2000) [journal on-line]; available from
http://rgs.railfan.net/; Internet; accessed 11 September 2007.
5
Maryland State Highway Administration Plaque, located at the Chesapeake Beach Railway Bridge site on the western side of the
Patuxent River.
6
Chesapeake Beach Railway Museum, “Museum History,” http://www.cbrm.org/History.htm (accessed September 12, 2007).
7
The Town of Chesapeake Beach, “History,” http://chesapeake-beach.md.us/ourtown_history.htm (accessed November 2, 2007).
8
Susan G. Pearl, “Railroads in Prince George’s County, 1835-1935” Historic Contexts in Prince George’s County (1991), 45.
9
Dixie Legler and Carol M. Highsmith, Historic Bridges of Maryland (Crownsville: Maryland Historical Trust Press, 2002), 18.
10
John Riedesel, “Ghosts Along the Right-of-Way,” Chesapeake Beach Railway Museum [on-line]; available from
http://www.cbrm.org/historicalarticles/may_2005_right_of_way.pdf (accessed November 2, 2007).
11
Dixie Legler and Carol M. Highsmith, Historic Bridges of Maryland (Crownsville: Maryland Historical Trust Press, 2002), 40.
Maryland Historical Trust
Maryland Inventory of
Historic Properties Form
Inventory No. 82B-005
Chesapeake Beach Railway Bridge
Continuation Sheet
Number 8
Page 2
The choice of building a swing span bridge highlights the importance placed on keeping the Patuxent River
navigable. A swing span bridge pivots allowing river traffic to pass the bridge when necessary. For less
crowded sites, the swing span remained a viable form of technology well into the twentieth century. Most
surviving swing spans, for example, are railroad bridges in rural regions. 12 This sediment was shared throughout
the country as virtually all nineteenth-century movable bridges were of the swing span variety.13
Specifications for CBR bridges called for 12-by-12 inch, seasoned oak timbers, with mortised and bolted joints.
In an effort to speed construction and save money, logs were used, many with the bark still on; and they were
spiked together rather than bolted.14 The hasty construction technique utilized to build the bridges on the CBR is
the primary reason why the only part still extant of the Chesapeake Beach Railway Bridge is the bridge pivot.
The Chesapeake Beach Railway Bridge at Mt. Calvert was an integral part of the CBR that facilitated the birth
and expansion of the city of Chesapeake Beach, Maryland. Mount Calvert became a stop on the railway itself in
1899. Chesapeake Beach and the CBR continued to prosper during the first part of the twentieth-century. This
growth would come under attack, as would all railway travel with the development of the automobile.
The greatest threat to the viability of the CBR was the proliferation of the automobile. By the turn of the
twentieth century, Maryland’s deeply rutted and nearly impassable roads, long neglected in favor of the
railroads and canals, slowly began to improve. By the 1920s the state’s modernized roads surpassed rail as the
primary means of moving people and goods.15 As a result, starting in 1921 the CBR started experienced
decreasing revenues.16 People and goods could travel quicker and at a more cost efficient manner when
compared to rail travel. The Chesapeake-Potomac Hurricane of 1933 combined with the Great Depression of
1935 brought an end to the Chesapeake Beach Railway Company on April 15, 1935. The rails were pulled up,
with the final train trip April 15, 1935. The Town of Chesapeake Beach continued to flourish without the CBR
in the years following the Great Depression. The groundwork had been laid by Otto Mears and his CBR for the
town’s continued development to present-day.
At the time of the 2007 on-site survey, the bridge pivot remained in the middle of the Patuxent River. A metal
pedestrian pier has been constructed on the eastern side of the river. The pier is situated on the historic path of
Minnesota’s Historic Bridges, “Stillwater Bridge,” Minnesota Historical Society [on-line]; available from
http://www.mnhs.org/places/nationalregister/bridges/nrwasb/sign.html; (accessed 2 November 2007).
13
Minnesota’s Historic Bridges, “Stillwater Bridge,” Minnesota Historical Society [on-line]; available from
http://www.mnhs.org/places/nationalregister/bridges/nrwasb/sign.html; (accessed 12 September 2007).
14
John Riedesel, “Ghosts Along the Right-of-Way,” Chesapeake Beach Railway Museum [on-line]; available from
http://www.cbrm.org/historicalarticles/may_2005_right_of_way.pdf; (accessed 12 September 2007).
15
Dixie Legler and Carol M. Highsmith, Historic Bridges of Maryland (Crownsville: Maryland Historical Trust Press, 2002), 22.
16
“CBR Closure,” Chesapeake Beach Railway Museum [on-line]; available from
http://www.cbrm.org/historicalarticles/nov_98_railway_closure.pdf; (accessed 12 September 2007).
12
Maryland Historical Trust
Maryland Inventory of
Historic Properties Form
Inventory No. 82B-005
Chesapeake Beach Railway Bridge
Continuation Sheet
Number 8
Page 3
the CBR and extends west to the edge of the Patuxent. The Maryland Department of Natural Resources owns
the property.
9. Major Bibliographical References
Inventory No. PG: 82B-005
Chesapeake Beach Railway Museum. Ghosts Right-of-Way. Available from http://www.cbrm.org.
Chesapeake Beach Railway Museum. CBR Closure. Available from http://www.cbrm.org.
Humphrey, John. Rio Grande Southern – History. Available from http://rgs.railfan.net.
Legler, Dixie and Carol M. Highsmith. Historic Bridges of Maryland. Crownsville: Maryland Historical Trust Press, 2002.
Minnesota Historical Society. Stillwater Bridge. Available from http://www.mnhs.org.
Pearl, Susan. “Chesapeake Beach Railway Bridge” (PG: 82B-5), Maryland Historic Trust State Historic Sites Inventory Form, 1991.
Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission and Prince George’s County Planning Department, Historic Sites and Districts Plan,
1992.
10. Geographical Data
Acreage of surveyed property
Acreage of historical setting
Quadrangle name
n/a
n/a
Bristol
Quadrangle scale: 1:24,000
Verbal boundary description and justification
The Chesapeake Beach Railway Bridge site is located along and in the Patuxent River directly south of the Mount
Calvert historic site. The site is bordered to the west by the Mount Calvert Historical and Archaeological Park property
and to the east by the Prince George’s County/Anne Arundel County line. Historically the bridge spanned the Patuxent
River, extending east from a spot in the southeastern corner of the Mount Calvert Historical and Archaeological Park
property. At this point the Patuxent River is approximately 400 feet in width. The Chesapeake Beach Railway Bridge
is associated with Tax Map 0111E-4.
11. Form Prepared by
name/title
Paul Weishar, Architectural Historian
organization
EHT Traceries, Incorported
date
February 2008
street & number
1121 Fifth Street NW
telephone
202.393.1199
city or town
Washington
state
D.C.
The Maryland Inventory of Historic Properties was officially created by an Act of the Maryland Legislature
to be found in the Annotated Code of Maryland, Article 41, Section 181 KA,
1974 supplement.
The survey and inventory are being prepared for information and record purposes only
and do not constitute any infringement of individual property rights.
return to:
Maryland Historical Trust
Maryland Department of Planning
100 Community Place
Crownsville, MD 21032-2023
410-514-7600
Maryland Historical Trust
Maryland Inventory of
Historic Properties Form
Inventory No.
PG: 82B-005
Chesapeake Beach Railway Bridge
Continuation Sheet
Number 9
Page 1
CHAIN OF TITLE
PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY LAND RECORDS
Many land records exist concerning the conveyance of land for the building of the Chesapeake Beach Railway.
A specific record regarding the land this Chesapeake Beach Railway Bridge is associated with could not be
located.
Maryland Historical Trust
Maryland Inventory of
Historic Properties Form
Inventory No.
Chesapeake Beach Railway Bridge
Continuation Sheet
Number 9
Page 2
Photo: Chesapeake Beach Railway Bridge, view from the northwest. (August 2007)
PG: 82B-005
Maryland Historical Trust
Maryland Inventory of
Historic Properties Form
Chesapeake Beach Railway Bridge
Continuation Sheet
Number 9
Page 3
Photo: Chesapeake Beach Railway Bridge, historic photo. (Date Unknown)
Inventory No.
PG: 82B-005