Riverdale Park in Prince George's County, Maryland — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)

Trolley

Town of Riverdale Park

Photographed by Allen C. Browne, May 28, 2018

1. Trolley Marker

Inscription. The Civil War (1861-1865) transformed Washington, DC, from a quiet southern town to a constantly expanding metropolis fueled by a growing federal bureaucracy and the many businesses that benefited from the wealth and markets that the nation's capital produced. Growth -- particularly the demand for affordable housing in an escalating real estate market -- led entrepreneurs to the surrounding countryside, still largely agricultural in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Developers could subdivide land and build affordable houses away from the bustling and expensive city.

Developers needed to provide prospective house buyers with transportation to their jobs in the city. And so the streetcar was born. Originally powered by horses and then by electric current, these omnibuses ran on steel tracks and stopped at set locations on a timetable, much like railroads, but on a small scale. A few cents bought a rider a trip downtown. The City & Suburban Railway established a station on this property, a concession to the Calvert family in exchange for the rail right-of-way. Streetcar systems, privately developed and operated,

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although with government backing to acquire the necessary rights-of-way, account for the development of Washington suburbs like Riverdale Park. The widespread adoption of the automobile after World War I (1914-1918) freed residents from the rigid schedules and routes of the streetcars and allowed households to be established farther from the city center. This led to the decline of streetcars, and transformed the once-neat pattern of suburbs to a more dispersed pattern of communities linked by automobiles and an elaborate system of roads.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Railroads & Streetcars.

Location. 38° 58.247′ N, 76° 56.049′ W. Marker is in Riverdale Park, Maryland, in Prince George's County. It is on Woodberry Street, on the left when traveling east. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 4700 Woodberry Street, Riverdale MD 20737, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in the Washington Metropolitan Area.

It is also in the American South,

specifically in the Upper South,

in the Mid-Atlantic,

Photographed by Allen C. Browne, May 28, 2018

2. Trolley Marker

and on the Eastern Seaboard. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region,

North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once one of the original Thirteen Colonies

and also the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Calvert Hills: A National Register Historic District (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); Riversdale Plantation (approx. 0.2 miles away); MacAlpine Icehouse (approx. 0.2 miles away); MacAlpine Farm (approx. 0.2 miles away); ERCO and Calvert Homes (approx. 0.2 miles away); ERCO (approx. ¼ mile away); Native American History (approx. ¼ mile away); Calvert Family Cemetery (approx. half a mile away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Riverdale Park.

Trolley No. 1300 at Hyattsville, circa 1957 image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Allen C. Browne, May 28, 2018

3. Trolley No. 1300 at Hyattsville, circa 1957

Close-up of photo on marker (Herb Harwood Collection)

Branchville Loop, 1948 image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Allen C. Browne, May 28, 2018

4. Branchville Loop, 1948

Close-up of photo on marker (Herb Harwood Collection)

Trolley No, 766 at Madison Street between Hyattstown and Riverdale, 1950 image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Allen C. Browne, May 28, 2018

5. Trolley No, 766 at Madison Street between Hyattstown and Riverdale, 1950

Close-up of photo on marker (Herb Harwood Collection)

Trolley No. 540 near Paint Branch, 1947 image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Allen C. Browne, May 28, 2018

6. Trolley No. 540 near Paint Branch, 1947

Close-up of photo on marker (Herb Harwood Collection)

Credits. This page was last revised on July 28, 2022. It was originally submitted on May 29, 2018, by Allen C. Browne of Silver Spring, Maryland. This page has been viewed 321 times since then and 23 times this year. Last updated on July 25, 2022, by Carl Gordon Moore Jr. of North East, Maryland. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. submitted on May 29, 2018, by Allen C. Browne of Silver Spring, Maryland. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.