BGuthrie Photos: MD -- Patapsco Valley State Park (and Thomas Viaduct)

MD -- Patapsco Valley State Park (and Thomas Viaduct):

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Wikipedia Description: Patapsco Valley State Park
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Patapsco Valley State Park is located in Maryland and extends along 32 miles (51 km) of the Patapsco River, encompassing 14,000 acres (57 km²) and five developed recreational areas. Recreational opportunities include hiking, fishing, camping, canoeing, horseback riding and mountain bike trails, as well as picnicking for individuals or large groups in the park's many popular pavilions. It is one of Maryland's first state parks (1907), the valley and its natural resources have been enjoyed by the Native Americans, explorers, settlers and present-day citizens. With its source in Frederick and Carrol counties, the Patapsco serves the Port of Baltimore, and empties into the Chesapeake Bay. The Avalon Visitor Center houses exhibits spanning over 300 years of history along the Patapsco River. Housed in a 19th century stone dwelling in the Avalon Area, the center includes a re-creation of a 1930's forest warden's office.

Environmental concerns:

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources has always set a high priority on the environment. Patapsco Valley State Park was planned with this concern in mind. The Patapsco Valley was set aside as a protected land in 1907 to protect the Patapsco River. The Patapsco River is a vital resource for fish that swim its waters and the wildlife that lives on its shores. The first parcel of land was the Avalon/Orange Grove area in what is now Ellicott, City, which was designated in part to protect the land from development. Keeping the shores and hillsides vegetated minimized erosion thus minimizing the amount of silt that could clog the turbines of Bloede's Dam which generated electricity for many of the surrounding areas. Other sections along the river were soon added making the Patapsco Valley State Park is one of the largest parks in the state of Maryland. The Maryland DNR still takes great pride in protecting the environment in all of the state parks and properties they are charged with protecting.

The 6 sections:

* Hollofield Area – This area features a scenic river valley overlook, playgrounds, picnic sites including rental pavilions, fishing and camping. There are 73 campsites, some with electric hookups. Hunting is available by permit.

* Daniels Area – This area provides year-round flatwater canoing for two miles of river behind Daniels Dam. Paddle your canoe or kayak and enjoy your lunch on rocks at the headwaters of the Patapsco. View abundant Great Blue Heron, kingfishers and beaver activity, or bring along your fishing rod. The Daniels Dam has a fish passage and accompanying exhibit.

* Pickall Area – Eleven large picnic pavilions are available for rental by reservation only. Playgrounds and ball fields are also on site. Hunting is available by permit.

* Hilton Area – Hiking trails and shaded picnic sites are available, along with a recycled tire playground. Youth group camping area is open from the end of April through Labor Day. There are 14 family campsites (tent camping only - no electricity).

* Avalon-Glen Artney-Orange Grove – Often abbreviated as simply "Avalon Area". This area offers hiking, picnicking, mountain biking, canoing, bicycling, tubing, rental pavilions, fishing, equestrian trails, ball fields and playgrounds. The Orange Grove Scenic Area has a two mile drive along the Patapsco to the Swinging Bridge. A fish passage has been installed at Bloede's Dam. This area is known for several historical sites – the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, the Thomas Viaduct, remains of the Orange Grove Mill, Avalon Iron and Nail Works and Bloede's Dam.

* McKeldin Area – This area offers youth group camping, picnicking, rental pavilions, playgrounds, fishing, ball fields, hiking, mountain biking, equestrian trails and a Disc golf course. Hunting is available in designated areas by permit only. Hike, bike or horseback ride scenic valley trails.

Sites to see:

Elkridge Landing

* settled in 1690, was a prominent colonial deep water port like Annapolis and Joppa. Prior to Baltimore, Elkridge Landing was the "gateway" to shipping agriculture products, natural resources and manufactured goods from the Patapsco's plantations and mills. You can view a remnant of Elkridge Landing at the historic Furnace Inn.

Thomas Viaduct

* completed in 1835 and is the world's largest multiple arched stone railroad bridge built on an arc. Enter the Avalon Area the Thomas Viaduct is in view behind the gate house.

Old Gun Road Stone Arch Bridge

* not in use but it has since colonial times spanned the "Mill Race" supplying water power to the Dorsey Forge. George Washington reportedly laid out Gun Road to move guns for the American Revolution produced at the Dorsey Forge. Transported via Gun Road to Elkridge Landing, the guns were shipped down the River and the Bay to Annapolis for final assembly. In 1815 the Ellicott family acquired Dorsey Forge and expanded it to become the Avalon Iron and Nail Works. Floods in 1868 destroyed the Iron and Nail Works along with the village of Avalon.

The River of History and Conservation Visitor Center

* located in a 185 year old stone house, the only remaining Avalon house that survived the 1868 flood. The Avalon site was improved by Victor G. Bloede, pronounced "Blerda," to become the Avalon Water Works in 1910. Remnants of the Water Works remain today as does bits and pieces of Camp Tydings. This Civilian Conservation Corps Camp (CCC) was operational between 1933 and 1942 and was located north-west of Old Gun Road Bridge between the Mill Race and the first commercial railroad in the U.S., originally the B&O Railroad and now known as CSX]. Following the start of World War II, the CCC Camp was converted to the nation's first Conscientious Objector Camp. This part of Patapsco Valley State Park is appropriately named the Avalon area.

Swinging Bridges

* the first spans the Patapsco at Orange Grove, 1.6 miles northwest of Avalon following the Park Road in Howard County beyond shelters 104 and 105. Prior suspension foot bridges at this location enabled residents of the Orange Grove mill town to cross the river to Baltimore County to work in the five stories high Orange Grove Flour Mill of the C.A. Gambrill Manufacturing Company. This mill burned May 1, 1905. Cross the bridge to discover ruins of this large mill site that extended from the railroad tracks to the Swinging Bridge abutment.
* the newest and second swinging bridge opened November 4, 2006. It is located at the end of the Grist Mill Trail and crosses the Patapsco River to connect with Ilchester Road. This new bridge allows easy entry for residents living in Ellicott City and Catonsville for the first time since Hurricane Agnes struck in 1972

Bloede's Dam

* is believed to be the world's first submerged electrical generating plant that was housed under water inside the shell of a dam. Victor G Bloede, the same chemist and entrepreneur who created the Water Works at Avalon, hired electrical engineer Otto Wonder to oversee the development of this unique hydroelectric dam that is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Union Dam

* at the Hollofield area is located between Catonsville and Ellicott City. Access the Union Dam Trail Head just past Hollofield Shelter 300. Union Dam supplied water power for the J.W. Dickey Textile Mills in Oella, Baltimore County, across the Patapsco River from Ellicott City.

Daniels Dam

* furnished 400 horsepower for canvas and denim mills and also generated surplus electricity for Baltimore Gas and Electric. Daniels was the most recent mill town to evolve around the dam. The town started in the 1840's as Elysville. The mill changed owners a number of times and in the 1850's the mill produced canvas tents for the Union Army.

* The current name Daniels came from the C.R. Daniels Company who took ownership of the Mill in the 1950's. The mill closed in 1968 and Hurricane Agnes destroyed the town and the mill in 1972. Yet the people of Daniels, though dispersed, still keep the bonds of community strong through annual reunions and the maintenance of a community brass band that performs on a regular basis.

Cascade Falls

* One of only a handfull of waterfalls in the state of Maryland, this waterfall gently cascades down a 10-15ft foot face. It is located in the Orange Grove area of the park, and can be hiked to from a marked trail at the last parking lot in the Orange Grove area.

--

Thomas Viaduct
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Thomas Viaduct spans the Patapsco River and Patapsco Valley between Relay and Elkridge, Maryland.

Building of the bridge commenced on July 4, 1833 and was completed on July 4, 1835, it is the first multi-span masonry railroad bridge in the United States and the first to be built on a curve.

The Thomas Viaduct was the largest bridge in the nation in its day and today it remains the world's largest bridge of its kind, as well as the world's oldest multiple arched stone railroad bridge. It was named for Philip E. Thomas, the first president of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O). Until after the American Civil War, the B&O was the only railroad into Washington, thus the Thomas Viaduct was essential for supply trains to reach the Union's capitol during that conflict. To prevent sabotage, the bridge was heavily guarded by Union troops stationed along its length. The Thomas Viaduct is now owned and operated by CSX Transportation and still in use today making it one of the oldest railroad bridges still in service.

Design:

This Roman-arch stone bridge is divided into eight spans. It was designed by Benjamin Henry Latrobe, II, then B&O's assistant engineer, later the chief engineer and built by John McCartney of Ohio under the supervision of Caspar Wever, the railroad's chief of construction. McCartney received the contract after the successful completion of the Patterson Viaduct. The main design problem to overcome was that of constructing such a large bridge on a curve. The design called several for variations in span and pier widths between the opposite sides of the structure. This problem was solved by having the lateral pier faces laid out on radial lines making the piers essentially wedge-shaped and fitted to the 4 degree curve. The span of the viaduct is 612 ft.(187 m) long, each arch about 58 ft.(18 m) with a height of 59 ft.(18.8 m) from the water level to the base of the rail. The width at the top of the spandrels wall copings is 26 ft, 4 in.(8.03 m). The bridge is constructed using rough-dressed Maryland granite ashlar from Patapsco River quarries. A wooden-floored walkway built for pedestrian and railway employee use is four feet wide and supported by cast iron brackets and edged with ornamental cast iron railings. The viaduct contains 24,476 cubic yards (18,713 m³) of masonry and cost $142,236.51 an estimated $276,991,7.36 today.

Renovations:

In 1929, extensive mortar work on the masonry was carried out and again in 1937. To counteract deterioration of the masonry, the Thomas Viaduct underwent more cosmetic upgrades in 1938 performed by the B&O Maintenance of Way Department. The work consisted primarily to improve facilities for drainage, relocation of loose arch ring stones and the application of a grout mixture to the stone spandrels filling. Nevertheless, the bridge is still indicative of the way in which the B&O track and major structures were put down in the most permanent manner possible. At an unknown date, railing blocks were removed from the north side of the deck and a bracketed walkway added giving more lateral clearance. Little work had been done on the viaduct until the repairs of 1937–1938 which, according to a 1949 report by the Chief Engineer of the B&O, would keep future maintenance to a minimum.

Brief history of the B&O route:

The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) was one of the oldest railroads in the United States. Construction began on July 4, 1828, the original route followed the Patapsco River to Ellicott's Mills (later renamed Ellicott City.) in 1835 the "Washington Branch" was constructed. This new line branched at Relay, the site of a former post-road hotel and changing point for stage horses. The Relay House served as a hotel until it was replaced by the Viaduct Hotel. The main line was rerouted in 1868 since a flood destroyed the Patterson Viaduct, which previously carried the main line over the Patapsco. Since then, Thomas Viaduct has carried entirely the railroad's freight and passenger traffic between Baltimore, Maryland and Washington, D.C.

During the 1880s–1950s, Thomas Viaduct carried B&O's famed Royal Blue Line passenger trains between New York and Washington, and, until the late 1960s, B&O passenger trains to points west of Washington, such as the Capital Limited to Chicago and the National Limited to St. Louis. In 1986, CSX acquired the B&O and all of its trackage which included the Thomas Viaduct. With the advent of Amtrak on May 1, 1971, all B&O passenger train service was discontinued, except for local Baltimore–Washington commuter trains, which continue to operate on a daily basis over Thomas Viaduct as MARC's "Camden Line" train service under contract with CSX Transportation.

A testament through time:

When the structure was completed a fifteen-foot (4.6 m) obelisk with the names of the builder, directors of the railroad, the architect (engineer) and others associated with the viaduct was erected at the east end in Relay, Maryland, by builder John McCartney. On one side the monument reads: The Thomas Viaduct, Commenced July 4th, 1833 Finished, July 4th 1835. He also celebrated the completed work by having his men kneel on the deck of the viaduct while mock "baptizing" them with a pint of whiskey.

During design and construction, the Thomas Viaduct was nicknamed "Latrobe's Folly" after the designer Benjamin Latrobe, because at the time many doubted that it could even support its own weight. Yet it has proved them all wrong, the Thomas Viaduct survived the great flood of 1868 as well as Hurricane Agnes in 1972, two floods that wiped out the Patapsco Valley and destroyed nearly everything in their path; and to this day it continues to carry 300-ton (270 tonne) diesel locomotives passengers and heavy freight traffic. The Thomas Viaduct remains as impressive today as at it was at its completion. The Thomas Viaduct marked the beginning of major American railway structures, many more were to follow, very few would survive. Even after more than 170 years the Thomas Viaduct still stands to serve not only as a work of art and engineering marvel but as a vital link in U.S. railroad industry.

Historical landmark:

The bridge was designated a National Historic Landmark on January 28, 1964, and administratively listed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 15, 1966.
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