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

Washington Spa Spring & Gretta Railroad

Historic Berwyn Heights

Photographed by Kerstin Harper, January 18, 2015

1. Washington, Spa Spring & Gretta Railroad Marker

Inscription.
The Washington Spa Spring & Gretta Railroad (WSSGRR) was a streetcar that served Berwyn Heights, 1912 – 1921. Incorporated in Maryland in 1905, WSSGRR started running from 15th and H Street, NE to Bladensburg in 1910. An extension to Riverdale and Berwyn Heights opened in 1912, using novel Edison-Beach storage battery cars.

Congressman Samuel S. Yoder invested and lost a fortune building the streetcar line, which was to spur development in Berwyn Heights, where Yoder had started buying land in late 1905. The battery-powered cars had trouble climbing “The Heights” to the terminus at 58th Avenue and Berwyn Road. WSSGRR patrons filed complaints and lawsuits because the streetcar routinely failed to carry them to their destinations past Bladensburg.

WSSGRR had difficulty becoming economically viable, as the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad and the Washington Railway & Electric Company (WRECO) served the same territory. Renamed Washington Interurban Railway in October 1912, the company foreclosed in 1915, and was purchased by WRECO in 1916. The service remained substandard and buses replaced the trolleys on the extension in

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1921, and on the main trunk in 1923.

Erected 2014 by Berwyn Heights Historical Committee.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Railroads & Streetcars. In addition, it is included in the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1912.

Location. 38° 59.431′ N, 76° 54.962′ W. Marker is in Berwyn Heights, Maryland, in Prince George's County. It is at the intersection of Berwyn Road and 58th Avenue, on the right when traveling east on Berwyn Road. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 5719 Berwyn Road, College Park MD 20740, 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,

and in the Mid-Atlantic.

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

Photographed by Devry Becker Jones (CC0), February 19, 2023

2. Washington, Spa Spring & Gretta Railroad Marker

walking distance of this marker: Berwyn Heights Association (about 600 feet away, measured in a direct line); Waugh Avenue (about 700 feet away); Veterans Memorial (about 700 feet away); The Berwyn Heights Company (about 800 feet away); Keleher Avenue (approx. ¼ mile away); Town of Berwyn Heights (approx. ¼ mile away); Origins of Lake Artemesia (approx. 0.3 miles away); a different marker also named Town of Berwyn Heights (approx. 0.3 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Berwyn Heights.

Regarding Washington Spa Spring & Gretta Railroad. The history of the Washington, Spa Spring & Gretta Railroad is described in greater detail in a pamphlet available at the Berwyn Heights Historical Committee website (https://berwynheightshistory.files.wordpress.com/2016/01/wssgrr-pamphlet-5-2-14.pdf)

Additional keywords. Samuel S. Yoder

Credits. This page was last revised on August 14, 2023. It was originally submitted on June 11, 2016, by Kerstin Harper of Berwyn Heights, Maryland. This page has been viewed 621 times since then and 20 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on June 11, 2016, by Kerstin Harper of Berwyn Heights, Maryland. 2. submitted on February 20, 2023, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.