Laurel, Maryland: Depot to Paddock to Dam

Laurel is an old mill town on the Patuxent river in central Maryland. A 19th century mill town needed two things: a river to dam and a railroad to ship its product. If the railroad depot happened to be next to a thoroughbred race track, all the better. The rail depot sits at the east end of Main Street. The river runs parallel to Main Street and between the depot and the race track. The mill is long gone, but the depot and race track remain. My father grew up in this town and my brother now lives in our grandfather's house in the town's old section. We took a five mile hike around town and along the river this Labor Day morning.

                     The railroad depot at Laurel, built by the B & O, now owned by CSX.

                                       The paddock at Laurel Park, inside and out.

                                      The grandstand and home stretch at Laurel Park.

The Patuxent river near the site of the old cotton mill.

                                          All that remains of the old mill dam.

Cumberland Connection

The Western Maryland Railroad station in  Cumberland, MD. This spot in The Queen City is where the C&O Canal, The B&O/CSX RR and the Great Allegheny Passage rail trail meet at the confluence of the Potomac River and Wills Creek, one of five gaps allowing passage over the Allegheny Mountain range, the other Cumberland Gap. It is also where during the French and Indian War British General Braddock, with his aide, Colonel George Washington,  marshaled his forces at Fort Cumberland before attacking the French at Fort Duqusne, now Pittsburgh. Braddock suffered fatal wounds when his force was ambushed en route to Fort Duquesne. George Washington assumed command. In 1794 President Washington again used Cumberland as a staging area before he marched into Pennsylvania as Commander in Chief of an American army to suppress The Whiskey Rebellion on the western frontier of the new nation. More photos here.