Torrey C. Brown Rail Trail Inducted into Rail-Trail Hall of Fame

Slated to become a part of the Grand History Trail linking Maryland, Pennsylvania and D.C.

Monkton Train Station

The Torrey C. Brown Rail Trail earned the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy’s highest award today at a ceremony in York, Pa., when it was inducted into the Rail-Trail Hall of Fame along with its connecting Pennsylvania counterpart, the Heritage Rail Trail County Park.

Out of more than 1,900 trails in the rail trail network nationwide, only 29 hold this title.

“We are grateful to the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy for their recognition of the Torrey C. Brown Rail Trail,” Maryland Department of Natural Resources Secretary Mark Belton said. “This award will serve as an added draw for tourism while honoring a great Marylander who made a tremendous contribution to our state’s natural resources.”

Named in honor of Maryland’s third Natural Resources secretary, the Torrey C. Brown Rail Trail follows approximately 20 miles of the former Northern Central Railway in northern Baltimore County and serves nearly 400,000 users annually.

Extending from Ashland, Maryland north to the Maryland-Pennsylvania line, the trail winds through historic communities including Phoenix, Monkton, White Hall, Bentley Springs and Freeland. North of the state line, the trail continues to York.

The two trails cover 44 miles along the railway corridor and serve as an important link in the proposed 300-mile Grand History Trail, which would connect Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Annapolis, York, Hanover and Gettysburg. The trail network would take users on a tour through 250 years of American history.

Originally chartered in 1828, this stretch played an important role during the Civil War. Troops used the railroad to travel south to Washington, and President Abraham Lincoln rode the train to deliver the Gettysburg Address. The railroad also carried President Lincoln north to Pennsylvania after he was assassinated in 1865.

The railroad continued to operate until 1972 when Tropical Storm Agnes destroyed many of the bridges. It was purchased by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources in 1980 for development as a rail trail.

The late Torrey C. Brown

The late Secretary Brown was the major driving force in developing the abandoned railroad as the state’s first multi-use recreational trail. Overcoming considerable opposition to the recreational trail concept, it opened in 1984 and thus began an incredible success story. By the end of the decade, the trail had blossomed under Brown’s leadership into a national model of what could be done with abandoned railroad property.

“These trail systems are receiving our highest award because they are truly exemplary,” Liz Thorstensen, the conservancy’s vice president of trail development said. “Both are significant to the rail trail movement in their own right, and we’re honored to give them the designation that they absolutely deserve.”

Rail-Trail Hall of Fame trails are selected based on scenic value, value of use, amenities, historical significance, excellence in management and maintenance, community connections and geographic distribution. Learn more at www.railstotrails.org.