Elkridge, MD

Trains still cross the Thomas Viaduct at Elkridge, carrying an active rail line over the Patapsco River on eight granite arches completed in 1835. The National Park Service identifies it as the world's oldest multiple-stone-arched railroad bridge and the first multi-span masonry railroad bridge in the United States built on a curving alignment. It stands near the Avalon entrance to Patapsco Valley State Park and embodies a much longer transportation history. Elk Ridge Landing was established as a deep-water port in 1690, shipping tobacco, grain, lumber, and iron before erosion and silt made the river unusable for port traffic by 1868. Elkridge is now an unincorporated Howard County community whose population grew from 15,593 in the 2010 census to 25,171 in 2020. Two large park systems and a notably practical library shape present-day recreation.

Patapsco Valley State Park's Avalon area combines trails with the viaduct, a history center, and remains of former iron and nail works. Howard County's 415-acre Rockburn Branch Park has nine miles of paths through woods, marshes, and stream valleys, along with ball and multipurpose fields, tennis and basketball courts, an 18-hole disc-golf course, playground, picnic pavilion, and BMX skills track. On Washington Boulevard, the Elkridge Branch of the Howard County Library System doubles as a DIY Education Center. Beyond its study and meeting rooms, play spaces, computers, and business center, adults can borrow tools for household repair, gardening, crafts, cooking, camping, and bicycle work. A July 2026 library update paired that collection with free instruction in plant care, wainscoting installation, and basic home wiring.