Brunswick, Maryland is a suburb of Washington D.C. that has a small town feel. It is located along the Potomac River across from Virginia. As you pass through this town, you can look around and see the mountains across the river to the west. However, the most common thing that you will notice is its railroad heritage.
The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad began operations in 1828 running lines east and west from Baltimore, Washington, and Philadelphia. In 1833, they needed to find a location to have a rail yard and maintenance shops where they could store and service trains. The location chosen was a place called ‘Berlin’. This brought jobs to the area, and the town, which was later named Brunswick and was incorporated in 1890, began to grow from a very tiny town to an enlarged town making it the second largest town in Frederick County, Maryland.
Today, the shops and the most of the yard are gone, but trains still pass through this town on a regular basis. The train station serves as a commuter station for people going in and out of Washington D.C. You can see much of the railroading heritage throughout the town including murals, businesses, monuments, a park, and a railroad museum displaying many of the town’s artifacts. In the fall, the town has its annual ‘Railroad Days’ to retain the memories of its heritage.
Brunswick is located on the Potomac River across from Virginia. It is south of Frederick and is accessible from U.S 340 between Frederick and Harper’s Ferry, West Virginia via Maryland Route 17 and from U.S. 15 between Frederick and Leesburg, Virginia via Maryland Route 424. You can read more at www.brunswickmainstreet.org.
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