A History Lesson: Ellicott City

On Monday Oct 22, I took my parents to see Historic Ellicott City. It is about 10 minutes away. Historic Ellicott City was established in 1772 by 3 brother's named Ellicott. The Ellicott's, who were Quakers, cleared and plowed fields and cut timber for the first buildings. Slowly the beginnings of a village rose from the landscape - a sawmill, a flour mill, a large log dwelling, and a store. Although the Ellicotts grew wheat, earlier settlers in the area had planted tobacco for export to England. However, tobacco exhausted the soil, and after several successive plantings, the land became unproductive. As a result of this, many Marylanders moved west into Ohio and Kentucky to find new farmland. However, the Ellicotts learned that through the use of ground plaster of Paris to fertilize the depleted soils, the land could be made suitable for growing grain. Thus, the idea for a mill to produce plaster of Paris was born and Ellicott City grew.

I know of one mill in the area to see but it is in ruins. Historic Ellicott City was the towns center. It consists of one major road (Main Street). Unfortunately this road is a main road to another town in the area so there is quite a bit of traffic. The shops down this street consist mostly of antique and gift stores now. There are a lot of ghost stories floating around. Ashlie wants to go on a ghost tour and see for herself.

My parents and I just walked down Main Street. I am sure there is more in the area to see, but we were tired after walking around and just seeing what we did. One day when the kids, Jeff and I walked around we saw the old firehouse. They had justed turned it into a museum and were starting to get some items. There is also an old Female School on top of a hill, but I haven't been there yet. The Patapsco Female Institute was founded in 1837 and operated for more than 50 years as an elegant finishing school for young women. As my parents and I were walking down Main street we kept wondering what this street was like in 1772 or early 1800's. I am sure this was a very busy area. We thought most of these buildings were businesses and the owner lived above the business. It really is amazing how many buildings are still here. I'll definitely will be getting some books on the history of the town and try to learn more about what it was like around here.

This is a train track at the very end of Main street. To the right is the B&O Railroad museum. We haven't went inside yet. On the posts of the railroad you can see signs of how high floods have been and the years.



Note: I put a link to the "Historic Ellicott City" website on my blog.