Old Baltimore Pike is a road in the U.S. state of Delaware. The road, known as New Castle County Road 26, runs from Maryland Route 281 (MD 281) at the Maryland state line south of Newark, Delaware, and continues east to Christiana, ending near Delaware Route 1 (DE 1). The road is paralleled by Interstate 95 to the north and U.S. Route 40 to the south. The Old Baltimore Pike was built before 1720 and connected Elkton, Maryland, to Christiana. It was a turnpike called the Elk and Christiana Turnpike between 1817 and 1838. In the past it served as a major connection between Philadelphia and Baltimore.
Old Baltimore Pike eastbound west of Christiana
Maryland Route 281 is a state highway in the U.S. state of Maryland. Known for most of its length as Red Hill Road, the state highway runs 2.12 miles (3.41 km) from MD 7 east to the Delaware state line in Elkton in northeastern Cecil County. MD 281 and its continuation in Delaware were originally blazed in the 18th century as part of the Old Post Road between Baltimore and Philadelphia. The route was part of the Elk and Christiana Turnpike in the early 19th century and later the Old Baltimore Pike, but it was replaced as the main highway east from Elkton by U.S. Route 40 in the early 20th century. MD 281 was constructed in Elkton in the early 1930s. The highway designation was extended east to the state line in the late 1950s; that extension was reconstructed in the early 1960s.
View east along MD 281 at MD 781 near Elkton
MD 281 westbound past the Kemp Lane/Muddy Lane roundabout near Elkton