Odenton's history is closely tied to railroad development in western Anne Arundel County during the 1800s and early 1900s. The success of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad spurred railroad construction across Maryland, and the county's proximity to Baltimore, Washington, D.C., and Annapolis drove that growth from the 1830s through the early 1900s. In 1840, the Annapolis and Elk Ridge Railroad connected Annapolis with the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad near Savage, Maryland. In July 1872, the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad began service between Washington and Baltimore and crossed the Annapolis and Elk Ridge Railroad, creating the junction where Odenton was born. The new town, with a rail station and telegraph office, was named for Oden Bowie, president of the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad. As a busy transit hub for the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad, later the Pennsylvania Railroad, and for a commuter electric railroad linking to the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, Odenton developed a community and commercial center with general stores, a hotel, and its first bank. In 1908, interurban lines of the WB&A Electric Railway connected Washington, Baltimore, and Annapolis, ran parallel to the Pennsylvania Railroad's main line, and helped make Odenton a regional commercial center. To reach Annapolis, the WB&A purchased the former Annapolis and Elk Ridge Railroad and electrified the route, and the intersection of these lines in Odenton became known as Naval Academy Junction near the Pennsylvania Railroad station. The WB&A station and switch tower stood at the present site of Academy Junction Plaza at Piney Orchard Parkway and Annapolis Road. Access to multiple railroads also encouraged the establishment of Camp Meade, now Fort George G. Meade, west of Odenton in 1917. Growing reliance on automobiles and the Great Depression ended WB&A operations in 1935. Odenton is still served by the state's MARC commuter trains on the line originally laid by the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad and now owned by Amtrak. Although the town the railroads built has changed significantly, the Odenton Historic District includes more than 80 historic buildings around the MARC station, and Odenton remains an important regional transportation hub identified for transportation-oriented development in Maryland. Portions of the former WB&A main line now form a paved hike and bike path running about five miles south from the intersection of Odenton Road and Piney Orchard Parkway to Conway Road near the Patuxent River.