Frost's Store and Post Office

Frost's Store and Post Office. . In 1889, business partners Gustav T. Hetschel and Henry Frost established a general store and post office just steps away from the Annapolis and Baltimore Short Line Railroad. This new rail service connected the state's economic and political centers, while fueling real estate speculation along its route. Frost served as the postmaster and ran the store, but he and Hetschel had bigger plans. , That same year, Frost and Hetschel laid out the residential enclave of "Erleigh Heights on the Severn," a little over a mile away, where Jumpers Hole Road meets the Severn River. (Today, it is the year-round community of Carrollton Manor.) Well-heeled Baltimoreans seeking a reprieve from the city heat acquired lots of summer homes, and access the new community by way of Frost's store, which conveniently stocked all of the supplies one might need to summer on the Severn River! Frost's store also serve as in informal rail station and ticket office. , The rail stop is one of thirty between Camden Station in Baltimore and Bladen Street in Annapolis. Its name was changed to Earleigh Heights in 1892. A combined post office and general store was a common fixture along railroads, providing convenient service to emerging towns. Only a few examples survive in Anne Arundel County, most notable the 1840s Mills Mouse in Millersville., A store operated here until 1943, when it was converted into a residence. Anne Arundel County acquired the property in 1988 for use as a ranger station for the Baltimore and Annapolis Trail. (The 13-mile paved hiker/biker trail follows the rouse of the railroad.) A full restoration was completed in 2020 so it can continue to serve as a ranger station and railroad museum. , [Sidebar:] , Hetschel and Frost's store is a rare and highly intact example of the Second Empire style in the country. This architectural style was popular throughout the United States between 1850 and 1885 and was frequently used in the construction of public buildings. The style takes its name from France's Second Empire from 1852 to 1870. Characteristics of a Second Empire building include the two-story tower, decoratively shingled mansard roof of the main building and tower, and arched dormer windows. The station's economical "German style" wood siding was common in late 1880s constructions. [Picture Captions:] Concave Mansard roof with a steeper upper part and a shallower lower part. Dormer window projecting from roofline., [Sidebar:] , The Legacy of a Railroad , On May 9, 1897, the Annapolis and Baltimore Short Line welcomed its first passengers, establishing the first direct rail service between Annapolis and Baltimore. The Short Line brought sweeping transformation along its route, sparking residential and commercial development., Towns like Arnold, Linthicum, Pasadena, Glen Burnie, and Severna Park owe their establishment to the presence of the railroad., The Short Line steam engines (picture above) also provided freight service. Farmers in what was then mostly agricultural land relied upon the rails to transport goods to Baltimore and Annapolis. In 1908 the railroad switched from steam power to electricity and operated as the Maryland Electric Railways Company. In 1921, the line merged with the Washington , Baltimore, and Annapolis Railway and became the WB&A's North Short Line. When the WB&A went bankrupt in 1935, the North Short Line reincorporated as the Baltimore and Annapolis Railroad (B&A). , A growing network of roadways and increased use of cars and buses spelled the end of the B&A passenger service in 1950, though limited freight service continued until May 1992, when the rails saw its last B&A train., The legacy of the railroad carries on with the B&A Hiker and Biker Trail, which follows the line's historic right-of-way across the county.