113-Year-Old Historical Site Honored As Relic Of Booming Railroad Town

ODENTON, MD — A historical marker was unveiled Thursday at Odenton's original Freemason lodge, recognizing the cultural and architectural significance of the 113-year-old building.

Local Masons built the two-story building, located at 1367 Odenton Road, in 1912 in a Colonial Revival style. The Masonic Temple served as the meeting place of Odenton Lodge 209 until 2001, and it was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2022.

Freemasonry started as a secret society of stone workers, but it grew into a philanthropic organization developing men's character.

The Odenton lodge was constructed during the town's explosive growth thanks to railroad junctions built in the mid-1800s to the early 1900s.

"Odenton is a treasure in Anne Arundel County. It's one of our oldest communities, and the history here is so great," District 4 County Council Member Julie Hummer said at the unveiling.

The Annapolis & Elk Ridge Railroad opened in 1840, bringing the first tracks to town and offering an east-west connection across central Maryland. The recently paved-over tracks that crossed Piney Orchard Parkway between Walgreens and the library were remnants of this line.

The Baltimore & Potomac Railroad emerged in 1872 along the modern Amtrak lines, intersecting the existing railroad at the current Odenton Train Station.

This first junction fueled the establishment of Odenton, named after Baltimore & Potomac Railroad President and Maryland Gov. Oden Bowie, who was also the namesake of the City of Bowie.

The Washington, Baltimore & Annapolis Electric Railway debuted in 1908, traversing modern-day Telegraph Road.

The still-standing brick building at the corner of modern Telegraph and Annapolis Roads was the railroad's switch tower. It served as a jumping off point for travelers heading to the state capital, sparking the moniker Naval Academy Junction, the namesake of the Academy Junction shopping center now housing Lime and Salt.

General stores emerged at the junction. The three-story Murray's Hotel launched in 1905 where the Walgreens now lies. The inn, restaurant and ballroom served travelers and railroad workers until it burned down in 1923.

The proximity to multiple railroads also sparked the establishment of nearby Fort George G. Meade in 1917.

The town even had a semi-professional baseball team from the 1930s to the 1950s. The squad played Sunday double headers at a small ballpark at the southwest corner of what's now Piney Orchard Parkway and Odenton Road.

The WB&A Electric Railway closed in 1935 and eventually became the WB&A trail that runs along Piney Orchard Parkway.

The town continued its railroad roots via the Baltimore & Potomac Railroad that became the eventual Pennsylvania Railroad and the current Maryland Area Rail Commuter tracks.

"History is not just something we read about in the books or see in museums; it is woven into the very fabric of our lives," said Greg Mazzella, first vice president of the Odenton Heritage Society. "It's in the streets we walk, the buildings we pass by and the traditions we hold dear."

The Odenton Heritage Society formed in 1989.

OHS bought the former Citizens State Bank, the town's first bank, by 1994. The bank was open from 1917 to 1966 next to the current Odenton Train Station, which was erected in 1943.

Now on the National Register of Historic Places, the bank has served as a coffee shop displaying artifacts. It is currently leased by the State of Maryland, which plans to use it as a ticket booth during a station revamp slated to bring apartments and shops to the west parking lot.

By 2001, OHS acquired the Old Masonic Hall and the Old Bethel Church built in 1923 at 433 Waco Ave. The stone church, which served as the town's first public library in the 1960s, is once again a house of worship under the Unity Tabernacle of Restoration.

OHS now operates the Old Masonic Temple as a town history museum open on the first Sunday of every month from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is free.

"We are blessed to have the Odenton Heritage Society, who's been preserving the history of the railroad and the Odenton community for so long," Hummer said. "I want to thank them for all they do."

The Maryland Department of Transportation, in partnership with the Maryland Historical Trust, has placed historical plaques along state roads since the 1930s. This is the second marker commemorating a Masonic lodge.

The Masons now meet a mile away at 1206 Stehlik Drive. The group is still active in community work.

"For hundreds of years, Freemasonry has had a simple but profound goal: to take good men and make them better," Lodge 209 Master Ethan Casey said. "Today, we continue to try and make our community better by cooking for the firefighters, supporting the local homeless community in our area, providing scholarships for worthy high school students, participating in Toys for Tots [and] organizing an annual trunk or treat."

Visit odentonheritage.org to learn more about the town's history. Head to odentonlodge209.net for more details on the Freemasons.

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