Granite Quarry at Ellicott’s Patapsco Mills 1815

Benjamin Brown wrote that he leased the early quarry at Ellicott's mills and his announcement/advertisement was picked up by a London weekly! The granite was used to build the Cathedral and other buildings in Baltimore, particularly in "Columns or Pilasters of any dimensions, Basement Stories or Fronts of Houses, door or window Cases and Cills."

Deborah Disney's Hotel and 'tavern' 1830s to 1860

Deborah McLaughlin Disney (c1798-  ) was a remarkable businesswoman who leased the hotel(not tavern), then bought it in 1840. An acre was sold for a new courthouse and jail; the deed even stated where Court Street would run, and they had to build a "substantial fence."  She increased the hotel size by 1844. "Mrs. Disney's Hotel" or the Union Hotel was a "commodious and well-established hotel," with a 4 story brick addition on the west side, a stable for 70 horses, running water at the stable yard with room for a flower garden, 8 acres to grow vegetables and hay, and outbuildings.  She sold it in 1860.

Patapsco Manor Sanitarium in Ellicott City 1914 ad

Started in 1907, the Patapsco Manor Sanitarium was bought in 1939 by Issac H. Taylor of Taylor furniture and became Taylor Manor until Sheppard Pratt used the buildings 2002-2020.  The Taylor family is now building even more homes on this land above old Ellicott City, despite the risk of more flooding of Main Street.

Gray's Patapsco Cotton Factory 1815 in operation, 1820 fire

Gray had improved the old paper factory for cotton in 1815, but in five years there was a terrible fire.  200 workers - mostly women and children - were left without a job, so money was raised for their relief.  Previous posts HERE

The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad 1836 - in French

The new B & O Railroad made the international news as seen in this excerpt from a French book. 

1802 Ferry rates to cross Patapsco River at Elkridge Landing

The Traveler's Directory of 1802 listed the "rates of ferriage" - man and horse 6 cents, four wheel carriages 27 cents, passengers 3 cents.  The ferry, left, was on the Delaware River by Philadelphia in 1779.

Ellicott's Mills "provost" in 1863

During the Civil War there was competition among the war correspondents to get the story and get it to their publisher. One reporter played a trick on another and got his report sent out first.

7 mile walk from Relay to Ellicott City 1919

Illchester had a "medieval air" and "nothing very modern" while Ellicott City felt like being "in Europe again. These old houses with their balconies, their stone walls either orange and tawny as the quarries yielded them, or washed with pale pinks and yellows and blues, Italian fashion."  The flour from the Patapsco mill "so familiar to your grocer's shelves."

Baltimore and flour 1831 ... and garlick flour

The port of Baltimore handled about 600,000 barrels of flour and 70,000 bushels of wheat mostly shipped to England - more than any US port except NYC.  Ellicott's mills supplied flour to Baltimore.  Wild garlic was probably a problem in the wheat from Howard County.  Oliver Evans' book (who visited Ellicotts mills, book was co-written by a brother of the Ellicott founders) contained an entire section on the wild garlic problem.

Schools at Ellicott mills and Chickasaw students

Martha (Ellicott) Tyson (1795-1873) wrote the book The Settlement of Ellicott's Mills, 1871 which included several education related topics.  Her father was George Ellicott, whose 18th century home is still across from the mill.  Various past posts about Tyson HERE

First Presbyterian Church... now the Howard County Historical Society museum

The 1894 building was built on the site of the 1842-4 church, next to the courthouse above Main Street, Ellicott City.  Both dates are on the cornerstone incorporated in the bell tower which was the original entrance.  There is an interesting two window partition between the sanctuary and the Sunday school classrooms that raise into the attic to expand the viewing.

Charles Carroll's Doughoregan Manor in 1831

An English traveler, Godfrey Vigne, wrote about his six month visit to America in 1831 which included a visit to Doughoregan.

Billy Barton, Belmont, Gentleman Jockey Albert G. Ober and ... Pimlico

Billy Barton, a thoroughbred horse, was not suited to race tracks but excelled at steeplechase races. He was sold to many owners, from a high of $32,000 to the owner of the NY Giants, finally for $2,000 to Howard Bruce of  "Belmont" (mansion in Elkridge, Md., not the racecourse in NY).  Billy Barton became very "ractious" and eventually was banned from race tracks - he bolted the opposite direction in a race at Pimlico.  After a few years of fox hunts, he gained fame as a steeplechase winner, often mentioned in the newspapers and made the cover of Time in 1929.  One article was about the negotiations for the horse to stay in a stateroom on the Cunard shipping line sailing to England to run in the Grand National. Gentleman jockey Albert Ober often rode him to victory. 

Blog change

The last two years have been very busy, as will this year.  So I am stepping back and will put up posts once a month for a while.  The next post will be on "gentleman jockey" Albert Ober.

Meeting to make Howard a county in 1837

Gov. George Howard (1789-1846) of "Waverly" was selected to chair the group of residents including Nath’l. H. Ellicott, Andrew Ellicott, Edward Gray, Thomas B. Dorsey, Chas. D. Warfield and Gustavus Warfield to "partition off the upper section" of Anne-Arundel county into a separate county.  The meeting was held at Deborah Disney's Hotel in Ellicott's mills.  Howard District was created in 1839, but not made a county until 1851.  The current court house was built in 1841.  The name Howard was to honor Gov. George Howard's father, Revolutionary War hero Col. John Eager Howard (1752-1827, also a governor when George was born) and landowner in Baltimore and Howard County.

Gen. Lew Wallace and his retreating troops in 1864 drawn by 11 year old Edwin Abbey

Edwin Abbey (1852-1911), who would gain fame painting large murals while living in England, visited his father’s sister and her husband Dr. Isaac J. Martin in Ellicott City during summers. In July 1864 the Union army lost the Battle of Monocacy, near Frederick. Troops under Lew Wallace marched down Main St. followed by the three officers, walking leading their horses.

Lew Wallace (1827-1905) held several posts after he resigned from the Army, including Governor of New Mexico Territory and then US Minister to Turkey (Ottoman Empire).  But his fame is from the book he wrote - Ben-Hur, published in 1880, and the epic film in 1959.

Elkridge lodging house - McCorys in 1815

Harriott (Pinckney) Horry (1748-1830) took an overland trip north from her plantation "Hampton" near Charleston SC when she was 67 years old.  After leaving the burned DC they stayed at McCorys, a new lodging house with new beds and mattresses.

Map - Avalon (iron works) at Elkridge

B & O Railroad 1832 - barracks

Charles Joseph Latrobe (1801-1875) an English traveler and future Governor of Australia described sites in Maryland - point of rocks, and "gigantic undertakings" like the railroad.

Elkridge Hunt Club

The club was officially organized in 1878 had moved to Baltimore in 1870.

"The Howard County Hounds can be traced back as far as 1814, when the Duke of Leeds gave two Irish foxhounds, Mountain and Muse, to a visiting guest, Bolton Jackson. This famous pair of hounds changed hands several times before going to Charles Carroll at his Homewood estate. Nimrod Gosnell bred July, a famous hound tracing back to Captain, a descendant of Mountain and Muse"

Civil War female spies and their connection to the Patapsco Female Institute

Patapsco Female Institute had at least two connections to famous Civil War Confederate female spies.  Two daughters of Rose O'Neal Greenbow were students.  Clara Haxall Randolph Howard married the grandson of John Eager Howard and was a cousin of Sarah Randolph, the last principal of the school.