Annapolis Junction, Maryland
Encyclopedia
Annapolis Junction is an unincorporated community in Howard County
Howard County, Maryland
-2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:*62.2% White*17.5% Black*0.3% Native American*14.4% Asian*0.0% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander*3.6% Two or more races*2.0% Other races*5.8% Hispanic or Latino -2000:...

, Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...

, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

.

Demographics

The ZIP Code
ZIP Code
ZIP codes are a system of postal codes used by the United States Postal Service since 1963. The term ZIP, an acronym for Zone Improvement Plan, is properly written in capital letters and was chosen to suggest that the mail travels more efficiently, and therefore more quickly, when senders use the...

 for Annapolis Junction is 20701.

(based on) 2000 Census for 20701
  • Population 40
  • Median age 31.5 years
  • Single family homes 6

History

Tracks of the former Annapolis and Elk Ridge Railroad
Annapolis and Elk Ridge Railroad
The Annapolis and Elk Ridge Railroad, later the Annapolis, Washington and Baltimore Railroad, once provided rail service to Annapolis, Maryland and was one of the earliest railroads in the U.S. It later merged into the Washington, Baltimore and Annapolis Electric Railway and was finally abandoned...

 joined those of the former Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was one of the oldest railroads in the United States and the first common carrier railroad. It came into being mostly because the city of Baltimore wanted to compete with the newly constructed Erie Canal and another canal being proposed by Pennsylvania, which...

 at this location starting in 1840, hence the name "Annapolis Junction."

On May 1, 1844, in a small wooden building along the railroad tracks, the first practical news telegram was sent from Annapolis Junction. The message, from Alfred Vail to Samuel F. B. Morse
Samuel F. B. Morse
Samuel Finley Breese Morse was an American contributor to the invention of a single-wire telegraph system based on European telegraphs, co-inventor of the Morse code, and an accomplished painter.-Birth and education:...

, announced that the Whig Party
Whig Party (United States)
The Whig Party was a political party of the United States during the era of Jacksonian democracy. Considered integral to the Second Party System and operating from the early 1830s to the mid-1850s, the party was formed in opposition to the policies of President Andrew Jackson and his Democratic...

 candidate would be Henry Clay
Henry Clay
Henry Clay, Sr. , was a lawyer, politician and skilled orator who represented Kentucky separately in both the Senate and in the House of Representatives...

, and his running mate would be Theodore Frelinghuysen
Theodore Frelinghuysen
Theodore Frelinghuysen was an American politician, serving as New Jersey Attorney General, United States Senator, and Mayor of Newark, New Jersey before running as a candidate for Vice President with Henry Clay on the Whig ticket in the election of 1844...

. The candidates left Annapolis Junction by train, and arrived in Washington to find the news was already being announced in the city by the local papers.

Annapolis Junction is the site of William Bowie
William Bowie
William Bowie, B.S., C.E., M.A. was an American geodetic engineer.-Background and education:He was born at Grassland, an historic estate near Annapolis Junction, Anne Arundel County, Maryland, to Thomas John Bowie and Susanna Anderson. He was educated in public schools, at St...

's home Grassland
Grassland (Annapolis Junction, Maryland)
Grassland is a historic home at Annapolis Junction, Anne Arundel County, Maryland. It was built in 1853, and is a three-part brick structure constructed in a telescoping manner...

, built in 1853.

Annapolis Junction in the Civil War

Located along the B&O Railroad, the main East Coast
East Coast of the United States
The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, refers to the easternmost coastal states in the United States, which touch the Atlantic Ocean and stretch up to Canada. The term includes the U.S...

 thoroughfare for North-South railroad traffic, Annapolis Junction was witness to the comings and goings of the Civil War.

General Butler recounts .. In route to Washington D.C. we could not sail into the Potomac, and the rail line from Annapolis to Annapolis Junction was the only route in. Troops were unwelcome in Annapolis, finding reluctance to provide provisions, and locomotives disabled to prevent their travel.

The 7th New York Militia
7th New York Militia
The 7th Regiment of the New York Militia aka "Silk Stocking" Regiment, , was an infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War....

, and the Fifth German Regiment under Col Schwartzwaelder , arrived in May 1861. The soldiers slept on wet ground, were lacking equipment and even boots. Their meals consisted of hard biscuits, tough meat, and "salt beyond description." Monthly pay was $11, but the paymaster did not have any money to give out. Col. Zadock Pratt
Zadock Pratt
Zadock Pratt Jr. was a tanner, banker, soldier, and member of the United States House of Representatives...

 delivered 6 firkins of his own butter, and his wife gave $250 of her own money to the troops.

In August, 1861, $4975 in goods were seized at Annapolis Junction from southern sympathizers in Baltimore.
Brig.-Gen. John C. Robinson commanded troops guarding the B&O railroad in 1862. The First Michigan Regiment was assigned to the sections south of Annapolis Junction, and the Tenth Maine Regiment was posted for points north.

In 1863, Annapolis Junction formed the northern boundary of coverage for the XXII Corps (Union Army) Department of Washington, and became the rendezvous point for drafted men from Maryland. In July, 1863, a large force of Fitzburg Lee's Cavalry was thought to have struck the rail lines.

The tracks were guarded from June to July 1864 by the 3rd Maryland Infantry, Potomac Home Brigade
3rd Maryland Infantry, Potomac Home Brigade
The 3rd Maryland Infantry, Potomac Home Brigade was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.-Service:...

. The guard of 100 troops reportedly fled when a small band of rebels were within 12 miles (19.3 km) of the vicinity. In a letter to the editor, on July 24, 1864, the writer complains that the 65 troops did not run off, but instead were following orders of Mag Gen. Ord
Edward Ord
Edward Otho Cresap Ord was the designer of Fort Sam Houston, and a United States Army officer who saw action in the Seminole War, the Indian Wars, and the American Civil War. He commanded an army during the final days of the Civil War, and was instrumental in forcing the surrender of Confederate...

 to leave the area before the arrival of the entire rebel army.

Post Civil War

In the age of rail, Presidential sightings were common in town. In June 1867, President Andrew Johnson
Andrew Johnson
Andrew Johnson was the 17th President of the United States . As Vice-President of the United States in 1865, he succeeded Abraham Lincoln following the latter's assassination. Johnson then presided over the initial and contentious Reconstruction era of the United States following the American...

 met with Maryland Governor Andrew Swan at Annapolis Junction were he received the resolutions of the Maryland Constitutional Convention
Maryland Constitution
The current Constitution of the State of Maryland, which was ratified by the people of the state on September 18, 1867, forms the basic law for the U.S. state of Maryland. It replaced the short-lived Maryland Constitution of 1864 and is the fourth constitution under which the state has been...

.

In 1867, the First Regiment of the Lincoln Zouaves Corps de Afrique held a political rally at Annapolis Junction with 400 musketmen listening to radical speeches from J.J Stewart, Judge Bond, and others.
On June 12, 1869, a northbound train struck a wandering cow at Annapolis Junction, derailing and injuring 30 passengers. The train was a night express carrying President Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States as well as military commander during the Civil War and post-war Reconstruction periods. Under Grant's command, the Union Army defeated the Confederate military and ended the Confederate States of America...

, his wife, and the Secretary of Treasury George S. Boutwell
George S. Boutwell
George Sewall Boutwell was an American statesman who served as Secretary of the Treasury under President Ulysses S...

, who all escaped uninjured.

In May, 1899, The National Junior Republic was founded as an institution for troubled 15- 20-year-olds. By 1914, the facility housed 44 inmates. By 1924, the site was abandoned and overgrown.

World War I

In June, 1917, Secretary of War Newton D. Baker
Newton D. Baker
Newton Diehl Baker, Jr. was an American politician who belonged to the Democratic Party. He served as the 37th mayor of Cleveland, Ohio from 1912 to 1915 and as U.S. Secretary of War from 1916 to 1921.-Early years:...

 announced that 17000 acres (68.8 km²) would be bought at Annapolis Junction to accommodate a National Army Cantonment to train 40,000 to 60,000 men for at least one year.
The encampment would eventually become Fort George G. Meade
Fort George G. Meade
Fort George G. Meade is a United States Army installation that includes the Defense Information School, the United States Army Field Band, and the headquarters of United States Cyber Command, the National Security Agency, and the Defense Courier Service...

.

Post WWI

After the establishment of Fort Meade, Annapolis Junction was sometime referred to as Fort Meade Junction.

Post WWII

No longer an actual railroad junction, Annapolis Junction has developed into a town with four major features. The historic and still busy CSX (former B&O) railroad line runs north to south, Maryland Route 32 runs east to west, various office warehouses lie to the west, and facilities relating to Fort Meade lie to the east. Although a historic location, Annapolis Junction is now mostly zoned industrial, and overshadowed by nearby Fort Meade.

The National Cryptologic Museum
National Cryptologic Museum
The National Cryptologic Museum is an American museum of cryptologic history that is affiliated with the National Security Agency . The first public museum in the U.S. Intelligence Community, NCM is located in the former Colony Seven Motel, just two blocks from the NSA headquarters at Fort...

's GPS address and physical location is usually referred to as "Annapolis Junction", though its mailing address is maintained by NSA
National Security Agency
The National Security Agency/Central Security Service is a cryptologic intelligence agency of the United States Department of Defense responsible for the collection and analysis of foreign communications and foreign signals intelligence, as well as protecting U.S...

.

Few residents call Annapolis Junction "home," more frequently associating themselves with adjacent Savage, Maryland
Savage, Maryland
Savage is a historic town located in Howard County, Maryland, about south of Baltimore and north of Washington, D.C. It is situated close to the city of Laurel and to the planned community of Columbia.A rich vein of American industrial history lies in Savage...

, its southern neighbor Laurel, Maryland
Laurel, Maryland
Laurel is a city in northern Prince George's County, Anne Arundel County, and Howard County, Maryland, United States, located midway between Washington, D.C. and Baltimore. Incorporated in 1870, the city maintains a historic district including its Main Street...

, or Fort Meade.

Annapolis Junction also serves as the location of the rail transfer facility that moves Howard County's
Howard County, Maryland
-2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:*62.2% White*17.5% Black*0.3% Native American*14.4% Asian*0.0% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander*3.6% Two or more races*2.0% Other races*5.8% Hispanic or Latino -2000:...

 waste to King's County, Virginia.

Government and infrastructure

The Federal Bureau of Prisons
Federal Bureau of Prisons
The Federal Bureau of Prisons is a federal law enforcement agency subdivision of the United States Department of Justice and is responsible for the administration of the federal prison system. The system also handles prisoners who committed acts considered felonies under the District of Columbia's...

operates its Mid-Atlantic Regional Office in Annapolis Junction.
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