Editing Owings, Maryland (section)

==History==
Before the arrival of the railroad, Calvert County was a rural county with few roads and no railroads. It had no factories, and the primary industry was tobacco farming, like most of Southern Maryland before the Civil War.<ref name=CT-1299>[https://mht.maryland.gov/secure/medusa/PDF/Calvert/CT-1299.pdf Maryland Historical Trust - Owings House - CT-1299]</ref>

The Owings family had been present in Maryland since the 18th century in various roles, such as real-estate brokers, merchants, and tradesmen. The family was instrumental in the development of the North Beach/Chesapeake Beach area as a summer resort. It was also instrumental in planning the [[Chesapeake Beach Railway]] and utilizing it to ship canned goods out of the county.<ref name=CT-1299 />

Owings was named after Harry P. Owings. The railway station located at the line's intersection with Solomons Island Road was originally known as "Friendship". To avoid confusion with the town of [[Friendship, Anne Arundel County, Maryland|Friendship]], located {{convert|1.6|mi}} northeast of Owings in [[Anne Arundel County, Maryland|Anne Arundel County]], the president of the railway, David Moffatt, renamed the station "Owings".<ref name=remembering>[https://web.archive.org/web/20061011080309/http://www.cbrm.org/historicalarticles/may_99_harry_owings.pdf Remembering Harry P. Owings of Owings] Chesapeake Bay Railway Museum - Historical Articles from May 99 - Harry P. Owings</ref> It was also a tribute to Harry P. Owings. Mr. Owings had been a one-time member of the [[Maryland House of Delegates]] as a [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]] from 1888 to 1889. He was a local farmer and was interested in the real estate business. The town of Owings was a result of that interest as many residents purchased land in the area which he had subdivided through his real estate business. He also served as a sales agent in the county for lime, fertilizer, coal, and corrugated metal roofs.<ref name=CT-1299 /> In August 1900, Harry P. Owings requested the position of station manager in a letter sent from Owings Station and now in the archives of the Chesapeake Bay Railway Museum archives<ref name=remembering /> and was granted the position.<ref name=CT-1299 />

Harry P. Owings also owned the ''Owings House'' located at 9740 Old Solomons Road, which is currently recorded with the Maryland Historical Trust. The house was built in 1850 and later served as a boarding house for county residents visiting Owings. The residents would board their horses in the stables and sleep at the Owings House before boarding the train the following morning. The Owings railway stop was the only one in Calvert County in the early days of the line.<ref name=CT-1299 />

A sawmill that operated in Owings in the early 20th century near Old Solomonds Road has disappeared.<ref>[https://chesapeakebeachrailwaymuseum.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/1998_NovemberNewsletter.pdf The Chesapeake Dispatcher - November 1998] Chesapeake Beach Railway Museum website</ref>

[[Maidstone (Owings, Maryland)|The Maidstone Plantation]] was listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]] in 1971.<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|2008a}}</ref>