Spotlight

Ellicott City History

Howard County combines the best of the old with the new and is ideally located in the heart of the Baltimore/Washington Metropolitan area. The county's rich history is evident in historic Ellicott City, a historic mill town founded in 1772.

It took its name from the owners of grist and flour mills, John and Andrew Ellicott. Today historic Ellicott City has a wealth of thriving organizations, including the seat of county government, antique dealers, retail outlets, restaurants and yes even tech firms (times have changed). Our location, complete with a brook that runs underneath the building, affords us a unique environment to become inspired.

Ellicott City was founded in 1772 by three Quaker brothers, John, Joseph, and Andrew Ellicott, who wanted to build a grist mill. The area in and around Ellicott City was good for milling because of the several rivers in the area. Today, Old Town Ellicott City is a fairly large city and an even larger tourist attraction, because of the various historical buildings located in the city. Some of these buildings include the Thomas Isaac Log Cabin, B&O Railroad Museum, Colored School, and the Patapsco Female Institute.

Historic Buildings

The Thomas Isaac Log Cabin is currently the headquarters of the Ellicott City Consortium. Built circa 1780 from wood and mortar, the log cabin was one of the Isaac family’s three residences, and was originally located on Merryman Street. However, after a flood, the Isaac’s moved their residence higher up the road to the top of a hill and out of the flood plane to protect themselves from future catastrophies. After they moved, the Isaac’s loaned the cabin to the African American community. The cabin has recently been restored to its 19th century appearance.

The Colored School

The Colored School, which was recently restored, was the first African American school to be publicly funded in the county. The school was a small, two room building that still used wood stoves for heating even in the 1940’s, and didn’t get running water until 1950. When parent’s asked for electricity from the board of education, the board basically said that they didn’t feel like spending money on a tiny "country school". The school was built in the 1880’s, and was in service until the 1953.

The Patapsco Female Institute

The Patapsco Female Institute is currently a stabilized ruin but when it was completely intact, the building was an 8,000 square foot Greek revival building. The institute was designed by Robert Long Jr., and offered services to young women from 1837-1891. One of the several headmistresses of the school was the renowned Almira Hart Lincoln Phelps, an experienced teacher who published several educational works on botany, chemistry, geology and even philosophy. After Phelps retired, Robert Archer became headmaster in 1856.

When the Civil War started, many southern girls (the majority of the school's population) felt that going to a northern school was unsafe and unpatriotic. The school closed in 1861 because of low attendance, and reopened in 1865 when the war ended. Archer retired in 1872. After Archer’s retirement, the school attendance continued to drop until 1878, when the school was forced to close because only a dozen students were attending. The school reopened in 1879, but again the attendance began to drop, until the school finally closed down permanently in 1891.