Brunswick

History

The area now known as Brunswick was originally home to the Susquehanna Native American tribe. In 1728 the first settlement was built, and the region became known as Eel Town, because the natives would fish for eel in the Potomac River. A grant to the land was then given to John Hawkins by George II of Great Britain on August 10, 1753. The grant had the name "Hawkins Merry-Peep-o-Day". The land was sold and Leonard Smith platted it in 1787 with the name of “Berlin,” as many Germans settled in the area. The name “Berlin,” however, could not be used for mail as there was already a Berlin on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, so the post office changed the name to "Barry." The town continued to grow and was incorporated April 18, 1890 with the name "Brunswick." Established along the now-defunct Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, the city became a hub for the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, which built a six-mile-long rail yard along the Potomac from 1891 to 1912, boosting the population to over 5,000, and making Brunswick virtually a company town. The railroad reduced its yard operations in the 1950s. During Patsy Cline's early career, she performed at the Moose Lodge in Brunswick where she met her first husband, Gerald Cline. Today Brunswick is home to a commuter rail station serving Washington, D.C. It is home of the Brunswick Heritage Museum which interprets the history of the city and is home of a large model railroad showing why the city's location was important to the railroad. Brunswick High School named their mascot the "railroaders".

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  21,669
• Carolina Wren

  Thryothorus ludovicianus (Latham, 1790) · Aves
  17,906
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  14,471
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  14,334
• Carolina Chickadee

  Poecile carolinensis (Audubon, 1834) · Aves
  14,297
• Red-bellied Woodpecker

  Melanerpes carolinus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  14,004
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  13,661
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  13,380

Largest nearby schools

• Brunswick High
  High · Brunswick · 862 students · 19.6:1 ratio
• Middletown Middle
  Middle · Middletown · 799 students · 17.8:1 ratio
• Brunswick Elementary
  Elementary · Brunswick · 752 students · 17.5:1 ratio
• Brunswick Middle
  Middle · Brunswick · 656 students · 17.3:1 ratio
• Carroll Manor Elementary
  Elementary · Adamstown · 545 students · 16.5:1 ratio
• Valley Elementary
  Elementary · Jefferson · 491 students · 15.8:1 ratio
• Middletown Primary
  Elementary · Middletown · 486 students · 19.4:1 ratio
• Middletown Elementary
  Elementary · Middletown · 441 students · 16.3:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 2.5 — 2025-10-27
  4 km E of Riverside, Maryland
• M 2.6 — 2021-06-25
  2 km SE of Woodlawn, Maryland
• M 2.81 — 2019-09-15
  5 km ESE of East Berlin, Pennsylvania
• M 3.03 — 2016-01-17
  3 km NE of Ranson, West Virginia
• M 3.6 — 2010-07-16
  5 km NNW of Barnesville, Maryland
• M 2.93 — 2009-04-24
  1 km S of Franklintown, Pennsylvania