In the early 1820s, the Mid-Atlantic saw many examples of transportation experimentation take root. The first established common carrier railroad appeared in 1827, when the Baltimore-Ohio Railroad Line incorporated. Freight and passenger service was the goal of the line, and officially opened in 1830. The rail line eventually connected East Coast seaports including Boston, New York City, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Charleston, South Carolina. Baltimore’s geographic location at the head of the Chesapeake Bay gave it strategic advantage to connect with farreaching ports.