Monocacy is a passenger rail station on the MARC Brunswick Line between

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

and

Frederick, MD Frederick is a city in and the county seat of Frederick County, Maryland. It is part of the Baltimore–Washington Metropolitan Area. Frederick has long been an important crossroads, located at the intersection of a major north–south Native A ...

. This station is one of two stations on the Frederick extension.MARC station list (includes Monocacy)
''MARC official website'' It is also the only station on the Brunswick Line other than Union Station to have a high-level platform. There is also a low level platform at the north end of the station. Monocacy station is located at 7800 Genstar Drive, a

cul-de-sac A dead end, also known as a cul-de-sac (, from French for 'bag-bottom'), no through road or no exit road, is a street with only one inlet or outlet. The term "dead end" is understood in all varieties of English, but the official terminology ...

with a large

parking lot A parking lot (American English) or car park (British English), also known as a car lot, is a cleared area intended for parking vehicles. The term usually refers to an area dedicated only for parking, with a durable or semi-durable surface ...

off the east side of

Maryland Route 355 Maryland Route 355 (MD 355) is a north–south road in western central Maryland in the United States. The southern terminus of the route, Wisconsin Avenue, is located in the Bethesda, Maryland, Bethesda Census-designated place, C ...

Frederick, Maryland Frederick is a city in and the county seat of Frederick County, Maryland. It is part of the Baltimore–Washington Metropolitan Area. Frederick has long been an important crossroads, located at the intersection of a major north–south Native ...

. It was built on the old Frederick Branch of the

Baltimore and Ohio Railroad The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was the first common carrier railroad and the oldest railroad in the United States, with its first section opening in 1830. Merchants from Baltimore, which had benefited to some extent from the construction of ...

. The architects of Cochran, Stephenson & Donkervoet, Inc. designed the small station to resemble B&O stations from the past.

Station layout

Bus connections

MTA Maryland Commuter Bus The following is a list and description of the local, express and commuter bus routes of the Maryland Transit Administration, which serve Baltimore and the surrounding suburban areas as of June 2017 following the Baltimore Link Launch. In , the sy ...

*Route 204 *Route 515 TransIT Services of Frederick
TransIT Route 20TransIT Route 10
By request only)

History

Monocacy Station, served at the time by the

, played a brief but key role during

John Brown John Brown most often refers to: *John Brown (abolitionist) (1800–1859), American who led an anti-slavery raid in Harpers Ferry, Virginia in 1859 John Brown or Johnny Brown may also refer to: Academia * John Brown (educator) (1763–1842), Ir ...

's 1859 raid on the

Federal Armory Federal or foederal (archaic) may refer to: Politics General *Federal monarchy, a federation of monarchies *Federation, or ''Federal state'' (federal system), a type of government characterized by both a central (federal) government and states or ...

in nearby

Harpers Ferry, Virginia Harpers Ferry is a historic town in Jefferson County, West Virginia, Jefferson County, West Virginia. It is located in the lower Shenandoah Valley. The population was 285 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Situated at the confluence o ...

(since 1863, West Virginia). Because John Brown's rebels cut the Railroad's telegraph line, no news of the rebellion reached Baltimore, the Railroad's center of operations, for several hours. The one train Brown eventually let proceed through Harpers Ferry and over the

B & O Railroad Potomac River Crossing The B & O Railroad Potomac River Crossing is a historic site where a set of railroad bridges, originally built by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, span the Potomac River between Sandy Hook, Maryland, and Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, in the Unit ...

into Maryland stopped at Monocacy, which was the next station with staff and a telegraph, something not available in the stations at the hamlets of

Sandy Hook, Maryland Sandy Hook is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Washington County, Maryland, United States. Its population was 188 as of the 2010 census. Sandy Hook was briefly important as for a few years it was the end of the line for ...

, and

Point of Rocks, Maryland Point of Rocks is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Frederick County, Maryland, United States. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 1,466. It is named for the striking rock formation on the adjacent Catocti ...

. The conductor stopped the train and sent a message about the abolitionist rebellion to B&O headquarters. After confirming it, the Railroad notified President

James Buchanan James Buchanan Jr. ( ; April 23, 1791June 1, 1868) was an American lawyer, diplomat and politician who served as the 15th president of the United States from 1857 to 1861. He previously served as secretary of state from 1845 to 1849 and repr ...

, Virginia Governor

Henry A. Wise Henry Alexander Wise (December 3, 1806 – September 12, 1876) was an American attorney, diplomat, politician and slave owner from Virginia. As the 33rd Governor of Virginia, Wise served as a significant figure on the path to the American Civil W ...

, and other officials about the raid/revolt, beginning the operation to suppress it.

References

External links

Monocacy station official website
{{MARC Train 2001 establishments in Maryland Brunswick Line Transportation buildings and structures in Frederick County, Maryland MARC Train stations Railway stations in the United States opened in 2001