Route 404 Memorial Garden is spruced up

Brianna Freeman - Brianna Nicole Freeman’s name is memorialized on State Route 404.

Photo Courtesy of Marie Freeman

DENTON – Just in time for the annual visit of state transportation officials Tuesday, Oct. 22, to Caroline County, volunteers and local businesses spruced up the Route 404 Memorial Garden with fresh plantings, mulch, pruning and raking.

The Garden, located at the west end of Meeting House Road just off Business Route 404, is the brainchild of Marie Freeman of Denton. 

Following the annual meeting during which the Maryland Department of Transportation officials presented its Draft Consolidated Transportation Program (CTP) for Fiscal Years 2025 to 2030 to the Caroline County Commissioners, four MDOT and State Highway Administration officials visited the Garden.

State Transportation Secretary Paul Wiedefeld, SHA Administrator William Pines, SHA District 2 Engineer Ken Fender and Director of the Office of Planning and Preliminary Engineering Ray Moravec “were all moved by the number of engraved bricks,” Freeman said.  

“The numbers and stats don’t have the same impact as faces and stories,” she said. Memorialized in the garden are 120 people who have lost their lives on the busy highway – one of the major routes to the Atlantic coast beaches.

Freeman is well-known for her advocacy of the dualization and safer intersections of Route 404. She, her husband Dan and son Ryan have all been involved in memorializing their daughter and sister, Brianna Nicole Freeman, who lost her life in a traffic accident when she was just a toddler.

Marie Freeman said she shared with the officials “that earlier this summer I had reached out to Ragina Ali with AAA Mid-Atlantic. Her email to me: ‘Many years ago, AAA had once listed Route 404 among the top 10 deadliest highways in the country; however, AAA no longer conducts such research.’”

Donating his time to power wash the benches and bricks was Sean Pokoj of Marine Services LLC in Denton. The Rex Landscaping crew spent the morning “doing what they do best and hauling away brush,” she said. Clayton Farms donated asters and pansies, and Danny’s Lawn Care “put the finishing touches on our beautiful garden.”  

If you are interested in helping in late February or early March with mid-winter pruning, or for more information about the Garden, contact Marie Freeman at 410-562-0283, freemanfam1@verizon.net or freemanfam923@gmail.com.

For updates on the Garden, visit “Route 404 Memorial Garden” on Facebook.