The Gift of a Second Railroad

The Gift of a Second Railroad. . , In 1870 , Centreville had a railroad connecting it with much of the Northeast in the Queen Anne's and Kent Railroad leaving from the rail station in the center of town. What it did not have was a railroad connecting it to Queenstown and Kent Island and onward to Baltimore. The lack of this connection meant no railroad steamship access to a vital market for agriculture. This changed when a group of Centreville men incorporated the Queen Anne's Railroad on February 26, 1894. Not able to fully finance the project on their own, they found a group of Baltimore businessmen to provide financing and ownership with the Centreville men remaining on the board., In 1901 the LeKenney Family generously sold a rights of way for the three of their farm properties to the Queen Anne's Railroad so that along with the purchase of the John Slaughter "Marshes" (now Millstream Park), the railroad could extend to Centreville here on this site. Thus agriculture surrounding the town gained direct access to Baltimore via the railroad and steamships., [Timeline:] , February 26, 1894: Centreville Men incorporated the Queen Anne's Railroad , June 27, 1895: Construction begins by Peninsula Construction Company , May 1897: First scheduled service runs, Queenstown to Greenwood, Del. , February 1901: Centreville and Kent Island-Love Point Branches Opened , January 27, 1905: Queen Anne's Railroad Sold. Merged into Maryland, Delaware and Virginia Railroad , 1894: Maryland State Legislature charters railroad with tax exemption , 1895: Delaware state legislative session charters Delaware portion , April 1897: First train runs on new Queen Anne's Railroad , 1898: Queenstown Railroad Service extends to Lewes, Del. , 1904: Queen Anne's Railroad goes into receivership , 1908: Creditors paid after bonds are paid off.