What's a tarpeian? It was an outcropping or cliff of Capitoline Hill towards the Patapsco River in Ellicotts' Mills (now Ellicott City). Above it is the home "Castle Angelo". It was named for the cliff off Capitoline Hill in Rome, Italy. The rock blocked the new B & O rail road route from Baltimore along the Patapsco River, so a cut of 60 feet was needed for the railroad track to pass. Etched into the remaining pillar of stone was: "completed April 1831 James Fresh." A huge tower of rock remained and, with the Castle, became a tourist site until it was totally removed for a second track in 1859.
