Yesterday I paddled out to what is left of the old railroad bridge on the Severn River in Anne Arundel County. The Baltimore and Annapolis Railroad line used to cross the river from the Broadneck Peninsula at Manresa, the grand old Catholic retreat which is now a retirement community called Celebration Villa. Today the rails run from the shore down into the river. Many years ago, the train would run into downtown Annapolis.
Excerpt from Inside Annapolis about Manresa:
“While the property was lovely to behold, procuring, maintaining, and financing that serene beauty was a constant source of earthly struggle for the holy men who managed the facility. Father Eugene McDonnell, founder and director from 1926 to 1935, kept a house diary in the early days. In it, he told of the quest for a suitable piece of property, conveniently located between Baltimore and Washington, and the almost insurmountable difficulties—chiefly physical and financial—in constructing the facility on a steep hill. The diary denotes a two and a half year search conducted across the state that culminated when Fr. McDonnell approached the Washington Baltimore & Annapolis Railroad… In March 1926 actual construction of the building was underway. The following month, the first group of 52 men came to Manresa for a weekend retreat.”
My starting point was Jonas and Anne Catharine Green Park, launching from the beach. It took about a half hour to paddle to the old rails with strong wind at my face. On the way back, I cast my rod for some light trolling. There are remnants of another old bridge on the river – the large fishing pier at the park is the old two lane Severn River Bridge, replaced by the Naval Academy Bridge now beside it.
Atlas Great Outdoors 