This Baltimore Afro-American article describes the 1961 CORE Freedom Ride on Route 40. The article reported that approximately 500 Freedom Riders drove up and down Route 40 in Delaware and Maryland. They drove in groups of five per car, with some starting in Baltimore after a briefing at Enon Baptist Church and some meeting up in southern New Jersey before driving south. 

The article notes that the Freedom Riders were mostly accomodated and the ride was peaceful in Delaware and northern Maryland. However, the article also notes that "trouble" emerged in the southern part of the route. The report identified the Aberdeen Restaurant as a hot spot in which "50 Freedom Riders sat inside the restaurant while a mob of 100 persons, including some soldiers, hurled threats and obscenities at them" until police dispersed the crowd.