Visitors thronged to Ellicott City just days after the July 24, 1868 flood

Ferries and a newly constructed foot bridge charged "tourists" from Baltimore and the country ten cents to get closer to see the damage of the flood by Monday July 27... the flood was Friday evening.

Sanborn fire insurance maps of Ellicott City

The buildings were color coded (blue - stone, red - brick, yellow - wood) and other details that insurance agents and firemen would find useful. Library of Congress holds many maps by Sanborn, those for Ellicott City: 1887, 1894, 1899, 1904, 1910. HERE

I've included these maps many times in past blog posts, and will continue. Today I posted many images of the large Patapsco Flour Mill on my Researching Food History blog. That post was initially intended for this blog, so I've compiled links to EC posts using Sanborn maps.