McGaw’s / Belcamp Station – Harford County – B&O Station

McGaw’s / Belcamp Station – Harford County
Baltimore & Ohio Railroad
Designed by Frank Furness
Built 1886 – Razed

In 1892, eight freight cars were demolished by accident at the Belcamp Station. The story does not go into specifics of how.
While I have seen the name of this station as McGaw’s, every article I have read so far call the Station the “Belcamp Station”. A schedule for the B&O Railroad for 1893 shows the Belcamp Station between the Stepney Station to the North, a mere 5 minutes away, and Harford ( Sewell ) Station to the South, only 3 minutes away.

Accidents and trains seemed very common back in the day. In 1896, a rider was recovering from an accident at Belcamp Station, when he attempted to jump from the moving train. The injury was so bad it was feared his ankle would have to be amputated, but doctors at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore were able to save the leg, although they advised the foot would be stiff for his entire life.
These newspaper articles not only help share the stories that happened at the old station, but give us years of operation for the station as well. in 1907, a mad dog was killed near the Belcamp Station by a neighbor after the dog had bitten several people and was chasing horses in the area.

In 1893, an argument between two parties near the Belcamp Station in the area of the Dairy resulted in a shooting where one of the parties got shot in the face, although it appears it was not a fatal shooting. In 1899, several of the fields near Belcamp Station, extending down to the nearby Harford Station to the South, resulting in the burning of a straw rick and 2,000 rails being stored there.

The Stations weren’t strangers to crime either. In the 1890’s, the Belcamp Station as well as the nearby Sewell ( Harford ) were broken into, Only 4 cents , ( yes 4 cents ) was from the Sewell Station and sixty cents worth of stamps, as well as a package containing 500 cigars worth $10. At Belcamp Station, the burglars were able to steal 1500 cigars.

In the 1920’s, ads were showing off the ” Belcamp Beach” a resort along the waters edge , with the Belcamp Train station also on the property.

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