Ellicott City, Maryland
Ellicott City is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Howard County,
Maryland,
United States. The population was 56,397 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Howard County. Founded in 1772, the town features a
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Station Museum , as well as a downtown historic district that is a popular destination among
antiques shoppers. As of
the 2000 Census, Ellicott City surpassed
Towson as the largest unincorporated county seat in the
United States.
Encyclopedia
Ellicott City is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Howard County,
Maryland,
United States. The population was 56,397 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Howard County. Founded in 1772, the town features a
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Station Museum , as well as a downtown historic district that is a popular destination among
antiques shoppers. As of
the 2000 Census, Ellicott City surpassed
Towson as the largest unincorporated county seat in the
United States.
In July 2005, ranked Ellicott City 20th on its list of the 100 Best Places to Live in the United States. In July 2006, ranked Ellicott City/
Columbia 4th on its list of the 100 Best Places to Live in the United States.
History
In 1772, three
Quaker brothers from
Bucks County, Pennsylvania, chose the picturesque wilderness up river from Elk Ridge Landing to establish a
flour mill. John,
Andrew and
Joseph Ellicott founded
Ellicott's Mills which became one of the largest milling and manufacturing towns in the East.
The Ellicott brothers helped revolutionize farming in the area by persuading farmers to plant
wheat instead of
tobacco and also by introducing fertilizer to revitalize depleted soil.
Charles Carroll, a signer of the Declaration of Independence and wealthy landowner, was an early influential convert from tobacco to wheat.
In 1830, Ellicott's Mills became the first terminus of the
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad outside
Baltimore, Maryland. The old station, which stands today as a museum, has been designated a
National Historic Landmark by the
U.S. Department of the Interior. According to legend, the famous race between
Peter Cooper's iron engine, the
Tom Thumb, and a horse-drawn carriage took place at Relay on the return trip from Ellicott's Mills in August 1830. The horse won this race, but steam engines steadily improved, and the railroad became a vital link in the town's economy.
By 1861, Ellicott's Mills was a prosperous farming and manufacturing area, and the site of the courthouse, which was built from 1840-1843 when the Howard District of Anne Arundel County, Maryland, was so designated in 1839. Howard County, Maryland, became an official independent jurisdiction in 1851. In 1867, a city charter was secured for Ellicott's Mills, and the name was changed to "Ellicott City." The only chartered city in the county, Ellicott City lost its charter in 1935 and was designated an historic district by the county in 1973. Ellicott City today serves as the county seat for Howard County.
In the early summer of 1972, the historic downtown Main Street area was extensively flooded by
Hurricane Agnes.
Historic Main Street has also been the site of several devastating fires, most notably in November 1984 and again on November 9, 1999. The former was started by a
bakery's faulty
air conditioning unit and destroyed six buildings; the latter, a 6-alarm blaze that destroyed five businesses and caused an estimated $2 million in damage, was accidentally started behind a
restaurant by a discarded
cigarette.
Ellicott City is the home to the
fairy tale-themed amusement park known as the Enchanted Forest. The park has been closed to the general public since the early 1990s, and a shopping center was built on its parking lot. Many of the attractions have been moved to Clark's Elioak Farm in Ellicott City where they are being restored. The Enchanted Forest was featured in the 1990 John Waters-directed film
Cry Baby, starring
Ricki Lake and
Johnny Depp. Clark's Elioak Farm is a petting zoo/farm that is open to the public during the summer
Geography
Ellicott City is located at .
According to the
United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 83.1 kmē . 83.0 kmē of it is land and 0.2 kmē of it is water.
Like
Rome, Ellicott City is claimed to be built on seven hills. These hills lie southeast of the Historic District, which is on the banks of the Patapsco River. Continuing the Rome analogy, the small tributary of the Patapsco that forms the narrow valley followed by Main Street is named the Tiber River.
Demographics
As of the
census of 2000, there were 56,397 people, 20,250 households, and 15,288 families residing in the CDP. The
population density was 679.8/kmē . There were 20,789 housing units at an average density of 250.6/kmē . The racial makeup of the CDP was 78.33%
White, 7.34%
African American, 0.15% Native American, 11.90% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.55% from
other races, and 1.71% from two or more races.
Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.14% of the population.
There were 20,250 households out of which 41.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 65.3% were married couples living together, 7.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.5% were non-families. 19.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.76 and the average family size was 3.22.
In the CDP the population was spread out with 28.5% under the age of 18, 6.0% from 18 to 24, 30.8% from 25 to 44, 25.2% from 45 to 64, and 9.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 95.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.9 males.
The median income for a household in the CDP was $79,031, and the median income for a family was $91,968. Males had a median income of $63,938 versus $41,721 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $33,316. About 2.2% of families and 3.3% of the population were below the
poverty line, including 3.3% of those under age 18 and 4.9% of those age 65 or over.
Education and schools
There are 6 public high schools that serve the Ellicott City area:
All of the above are part of the Howard County Public School System.
Notable People
- Thomas Watkins Ligon, 30th Governor of Maryland, died in Ellicott City in 1881, buried at St. John's Cemetery.
- James A. Clark, president of the Maryland State Senate from 1979 to 1983.
- Babe Ruth, thanks to Howard County's lax Marriage laws, was married in Ellicott City to Helen Woodford October 17, 1914.
External links
