 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 ( I @-@ 95 , Delaware Turnpike ) to the north and U.S. Route 40 ( US 40 , Pulaski Highway ) 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 . 
