In 1916 Mr. Alfred H. Smith Sr. began mining sand and gravel in Branchville, Maryland on what is now the Southern section of Greenbelt Station. Smith Sr. mined the area with 2 dredges, 10 barges, and 2 dry land processing plants all built by his employees. In 1952, Smith Sr. built a state-of-the-art enclosed plant on the site, which processed materials at 500 tons per hour. This plant produced the materials used to build the Beltway (I-495) and portions of Interstate I-95.

Greenbelt Station as it appeared in the early 1950's.

Greenbelt Station as it appeared in 1991. Construction of the Metro station is underway.

A.H. Smith Sr. later formed A.H. Smith Associates with his sons, A. H. Smith Jr. and Harry R. Smith. Over the years, A.H. Smith Associates continued to mine sand and gravel, in addition to producing concrete and asphalt on the site. With the passing of A.H. Smith Sr. and later Harry R. Smith, A.H. Smith Jr. began to wind down operations on the site. A.H. Smith Jr. closed down the mining operations, and began selling the assets of A.H. Smith Associates to various companies.

The Northern portion of the site includes the Greenbelt Metro Station platform and surface parking lot which was opened in 1993. In 1996, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority decided to have their property at the Greenbelt Metro Station developed. This turned out to be perfect timing for the Smith family, as they were winding down the industrial activities on the 160 acres of property they owned adjacent to the Metro Station. The combination of the Smith and Metro properties created the 240 acre site now known as “Greenbelt Station”.