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The KRR was chartered by the state of Maryland on March 8, 1858 and charged with building a railroad from the [[Chesapeake Bay]] or the [[Chester River]] in [[Kent County, Maryland|Kent County]] east to a point on the north side of the [[Sassafras River]] in [[Cecil County, Maryland|Cecil County]] or to a point on the then unbuilt [[Queen Anne’s and Kent Railroad]]; and to build branches within Kent County as desired.<ref>{{cite web |title=AN ACT to incorporate “The Kent County Rail Road Company.” |url=https://msa.maryland.gov/megafile/msa/speccol/sc2900/sc2908/000001/000623/html/am623–229.html |access-date=26 September 2025}}</ref> |
The KRR was chartered by the state of Maryland on March 8, 1858 and charged with building a railroad from the [[Chesapeake Bay]] or the [[Chester River]] in [[Kent County, Maryland|Kent County]] east to a point on the north side of the [[Sassafras River]] in [[Cecil County, Maryland|Cecil County]] or to a point on the then unbuilt [[Queen Anne’s and Kent Railroad]]; and to build branches within Kent County as desired.<ref>{{cite web |title=AN ACT to incorporate “The Kent County Rail Road Company.” |url=https://msa.maryland.gov/megafile/msa/speccol/sc2900/sc2908/000001/000623/html/am623–229.html |access-date=26 September 2025}}</ref> |
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Construction began in March 1868 with the intention of building from the DRC and the |
Construction began in March 1868 with the intention of building from the DRC and the at [[Massey, Maryland|Massey]] to [[Rock Hall, Maryland|Rock Hall]] (where a ferry would connect with [[Baltimore (MD)|Baltimore]]), and with a branch to Chestertown. At the same time, the DRC built a branch from their line at [[Townsend, Delaware]] to Massey’s Crossroads where Kent County Rail Road Company (KCRR) would also connect.<ref name=”QAKR1868″>{{cite news |title=QUEEN ANNE’S AND KENT RAILROAD |work=The Baltimore Sun |date=22 January 1868}}</ref> |
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A shortage of funds brought work to a halt in September 1868, but it resumed in April 1869, |
A shortage of funds brought work to a halt in September 1868, but it resumed in April 1869, |
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Revision as of 17:33, 29 September 2025
The Kent County Railroad (KRR) was a railroad company that operated in the US state of Maryland from 1870 to 1883. It connected to the previously existing Delaware Railroad (DRC) at its branch from Townsend, Delaware to Massey’s Crossroads in Kent County, Maryland and ran through kent County to Chestertown, Maryland. At Massey’s Crossroad, later Massey’s Station, it also connected to the Queen Anne’s and Kent Railroad. In 1877 the Kent County was sold at foreclosure and bought by the New Jersey Southern Railroad which, on May 12, 1883, merged it with the Smyrna and Delaware Bay Railroad to form the Baltimore and Delaware Bay Railroad.[1]
History
The KRR was chartered by the state of Maryland on March 8, 1858 and charged with building a railroad from the Chesapeake Bay or the Chester River in Kent County east to a point on the north side of the Sassafras River in Cecil County or to a point on the then unbuilt Queen Anne’s and Kent Railroad; and to build branches within Kent County as desired.[2]
Construction began in March 1868 with the intention of building from the DRC and the QA&KR at Massey to Rock Hall (where a ferry would connect with Baltimore), and with a branch to Chestertown. At the same time, the DRC built a branch from their line at Townsend, Delaware to Massey’s Crossroads where Kent County Rail Road Company (KCRR) would also connect.[3]
A shortage of funds brought work to a halt in September 1868, but it resumed in April 1869,
The line was opened from Massey to Kennedyville in April 1870. The rest of the line from Kennedyville to Chestertown on the Chester River opened on February 20, 1872. A branch from just north of Chestertown west to Parsons (on the projected line to Rock Hall), via Vickers, opened on August 1, 1872. However, this created a nonsensical dogleg, and was abandoned and partly removed when the direct line from Parsons to Worton was completed in October 1873.
On February 15, 1877 the Kent County was sold at foreclosure and bought by the New Jersey Southern Railroad (later part of the Central Railroad of New Jersey (CNJ)), which merged the two companies as the Baltimore and Delaware Bay Railroad on May 12, 1883.
Legacy
The line is still in operation from Massey to Worton and south of Worton to Mary Morris Road. Within Chestertown, from Manor Avenue and the end of the line near the Chester River, the right-or-way has been converted into the 1.2 mile long Wayne Gilchrest Trail (nee the Chestertown Rail Trail). There are plans to use the 1.8 miles in between to extend the rail-trail.
References
