 Its role as a seaport faded as the [[Anacostia River]] [[silt]]ed up and larger ships could no longer reach the port.However, the town remained an important crossroads of routes north to [[Baltimore]] and [[Philadelphia]], south and east to the towns of [[Annapolis, Maryland|Annapolis]] and [[Upper Marlboro, Maryland|Upper Marlboro]], and west to the District of Columbia.The original terminus of the [[Baltimore and Ohio Railroad]] was Bladensburg, forcing all passengers intended for Washington to board carriages to continue on into the city.