Embedded Files
The B&O Rail Road began constructing the Howard County portion of its lateral road to Washington DC, sometimes known as the Washington Road or the Washington Branch of the B&O, in 1834 and it opened in 1835. This was the first "lateral" line of the B&O and went from Baltimore to Washington DC traveling past Relay and the Thomas Viaduct traveling southwesterly to DC.
To do this would require 2 large "cuts" through ridges in Howard County called Merrill's Ridge and the Patuxent Ridge and then another cut south of Laurel in PG County on Snowden's Ridge. Division 2 of the Washington Road contained these two large cuts - the first managed by Jonathan Jessop and the second managed by John Watson.
The stories that follow will detail the work done, introduce the B&O managers Jonathan Jessop (the namesake of Jessup) and John Watson who was brutally murdered, provide a bit about the Irish workers on the line at the time, and present more about the role of the Savage Manufacturing Company.
The images provided show the locations of Section 1 - managed by Jonathan Jessop and Section 4 - managed by John Watson. They also show the 2 ridges in Howard County and another nearby in PG County and the "cuts" are clearly visible on the Lidar images.
This was a critical time in our transportation history and, believe it or not, digging out these cuts was all done by pick and shovel. The implications of their work are very long lasting. See the stories below:
Moving the Earth for the Railroad
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