Mischievous Ellicott boys, the store and electricity

In the 19th century, a few people, including Ben Franklin, experimented with electricity for science or entertainment. Joseph Priestly wrote the book The History and Present State of Electricity, with original experiments in 1769. One image from the book is at left.

An Ellicott descendant related in his 1882 book how some grandsons of the founders set up electrical devices around the stove in the Ellicott's store in order to shock unsuspecting locals.

Ellicott store or warehouse before 1790

Martha Ellicott Tyson (1795-1873), daughter of George Ellicott (1760-1832) and Elizabeth (Brooke) Ellicott (1762-1853) was raised in his stone home across from the mill and store/warehouse. She wrote about the history of many buildings and people in her Maryland Historical Society article 1865. Image from 1854.