Andrew Ellicott

Settlement at Ellicott Mills - 1771

Joseph, Andrew and John Ellicott were Quakers who had grown up in Bucks County, Pennsylvania , the sons of Andrew Ellicott, an Englishman who came to the Pennsylvania colony in 1730. Andrew married, had five sons, and died young, leaving his widow to raise the young family. As the boys grew they were apprenticed to learn the trades that led to their later success in Maryland.

Lush vegetation and the swiftly flowing Patapsco River must have captivated the three Ellicott brothers when they searched for land in the late 1760's. The brothers had searched throughout Maryland and Pennsylvania for a site where they could grow wheat and harness water power for a mill. In 1771 the Ellicott brothers purchased many acres east of the river in the valley known as the "Hollow." Although the valley was uninhabitable, they were not alone; other settlers lived along the bluffs overlooking the river.

Some of the tracts of land the Ellicotts bought later spanned both sides of the Patapsco; the west bank was part of Anne Arundel County (now Howard County), and the east bank was in Baltimore County.

The Ellicotts

The Ellicotts were industrious, inventive, and practical. They developed new methods for milling flour, constructed machine shops, and experimented in farming and technology. This large Quaker family also stressed the importance of education. They brought the best teachers to the community to operate a school for all local children. The Ellicotts attended Meeting (the Quaker religious service) and eventually were instrumental in building a new Quaker meeting house near the mills. After construction of the first mills and workmen's houses in the 1780s, two sons of founder Andrew Ellicott built large stone houses. Jonathan and George chose the east bank of the river, which was near the flour mill, for their large and imposing houses. The homes overlooked the mill race, a man-made canal that provided the water power to operate the mill.

Extensive granite quarries lining the Patapsco River provided the building material for many of the buildings, and in later years, the curbings and walls walls throughout the old town, and the blocks for the laying of the original railroad tracks. Some of these quarries are still discernible today; one can be seen along Frederick Road where a gas station is located today. Additional Information