Catonsville Railroad Hotel

Here is a photograph (ca. 1907) of the former “Railroad Hotel” on the northeast corner of Frederick Road and Egges Lane. The hotel was located across the street from the Catonsville Short Line Railroad Terminus, thus giving the hotel its name. Note the “rubblestone” building material used for this building, as well as other buildings in Catonsville. It is now the location of the Catonsville Fire Station 4. The building was originally owned by J. Egge (namesake for Egge’s Lane). It was subsequently sold to Charles Burke in 1898 and was sold again to John C. Morseberger around 1907. The picture was taken when John C. Morseberger's son, Louis, was the proprietor. (Note the Proprietor sign in the picture.)

The Moresberger family provided me with the following family history: Johan (later John) Conrad Morsberger was the patriarch of the U.S. Morsebergers . He was born in 1828 in Bavaria, Germany. He came to New York between 1845 and 1847 and then moved to Baltimore (Irvington) in the 1850s. He developed a contracting/building business, and built many houses including some next to the former Duffy’s Bar in the 3400 block of Frederick Avenue. John Conrad lived on Frederick Avenue and operated his saloon known as “Morsberger’s Hall” for the rest of his life, which was located in the Carroll section of Baltimore (near Caton Ave). John Conrad died in 1904. He was survived by 14 children, 75 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren, and he has over eight hundred descendants living throughout the United States.

He helped his sons Louis and John establish the “Railroad Hotel” further out in the country. This hotel (which included a restaurant and tavern) was one of the earliest buildings in Catonsville. Louis ultimately bought out brother John and passed the business on to his son, Emory Louis, who continued the tavern even through Prohibition. In the 1930s, he relocated Morsberger’s Bar to its present site a block east and across Frederick Avenue at 713 Frederick Road. Emory Louis passed the business on to his sons Elmer and Louis, who later passed it on to their sons, Robert (Bob) and Jeff. Note that the current Morseberger’s bar includes the original ornate bar and cash register from the original Railroad Hotel tavern.

Around 1922, the building was sold to Baltimore County and torn down to make way for Catonsville Fire Station 4, which was opened in 1928. In 2023, the County announced that it had acquired a 6-acre parcel along Edmondson Avenue for a new, state-of-the-art Catonsville Fire Station. This new station will replace the existing (1928) station located at 756 Frederick Road.

Plans call for the existing station to be preserved as a Baltimore County Fire Museum.