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Ellicott City, Maryland
Location of Ellicott City, Maryland
Coordinates: 39°16′9″N 76°49′50″W / 39.26917, -76.83056
Country	United States
State	Maryland
County	Howard
Area
- Total	32.1 sq mi (83.1 km²)
- Land	32.0 sq mi (83.0 km²)
- Water	0.1 sq mi (0.2 km²)
Elevation	180 ft (55 m)
Population (2000)
- Total	56,397
- Density	1,760.9/sq mi (679.9/km²)
Time zone	Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
- Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP codes	21041-21043
Area code(s)	410
FIPS code	24-26000
GNIS feature ID	0584282

Main Street, Ellicott City

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.^GR6 Founded in 1772, the town features a Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Station Museum (with a station built in 1831), as well as a downtown historic district that is a popular destination among antiques shoppers. As of the 2000 Census, Ellicott City surpassed Towson, Maryland as the largest unincorporated county seat in the state.

In July 2005, CNN/Money and Money magazine ranked Ellicott City 20th on its list of the 100 Best Places to Live in the United States. In July 2006, CNN/Money and Money magazineranked Ellicott City/Columbia 4th on its list of the 100 Best Places to Live in the United States.

Ellicott City, Maryland is listed amongst America's most affluent communities and Howard County is ranked third richest in the United States by the U.S. Census Bureau.^[1]

The downtown area is often called "Historic Ellicott City" or "Old Ellicott City", to distinguish it from the unincorporated area that extends north to the Baltimore County line, south to Columbia, and west to West Friendship.

Log cabin at west end of Ellicott City Main Street.

In 1772, three Quaker brothers from Bucks County, Pennsylvania, chose the picturesque wilderness, upriver from Elk Ridge Landing (known today as Elkridge, Maryland) 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. The old station, which stands today as a museum, has been designated a National Historic Landmark by the U.S. Department of the Interior. 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. Even though the horse won the race due to a broken drive belt, 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. 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.

Historic flood stages marked on the B&O viaduct. Hurricane Agnes flood stage (14½ feet) is in the middle of the photograph.

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 Leidig's Bakery's faulty air conditioning unit and destroyed six buildings; the latter, a 6-alarm blaze which destroyed five businesses and caused an estimated $2 million in damage, was accidentally started behind a restaurant by a discarded cigarette.

Ellicott City was 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 (called the Enchanted Forest 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.

Ellicott City has been called one of the most haunted small towns on the east coast. The Howard County Tourism Council runs a Ghost Tour that visits several places with reputations for paranormal activity. Among these are the mansions Lilburn, Hayden House, and Mt. Ida; the B&O railroad bridge that crosses over Main Street in the center of the town; the old Ellicott City Firehouse; and the Patapsco Female Institute. Proud Ellicott City residents use this haunted history to bring their small town into the spotlight.

Ellicott City is located at 39°16′9″N, 76°49′50″W (39.269257, -76.830545)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 32.1 square miles (83.1 km²), of which, 32.0 square miles (83.0 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.2 km²) of it (0.19%) 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.

• The Chesapeake Shakespeare Company
• Howard County Center for the Arts
• Historic Main Street
• The Enchanted Forest
• The Shrine of St Anthony

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 56,397 people, 20,250 households, and 15,288 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 1,760.9 people per square mile (679.8/km²). There were 20,789 housing units at an average density of 649.1/sq mi (250.6/km²). 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.

There are seven public high schools that serve the Ellicott City area:

• Centennial High School
• Howard High School
• Long Reach High School
• Marriotts Ridge High School
• Mount Hebron High School
• River Hill High School
• Wilde Lake High School

All of the above are part of the Howard County Public School System.

While these public schools are available in the area, Glenelg Country School is also located in Ellicott City.

• 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.
• Divine briefly rented an apartment in Ellicott City as a young adult.

• Ellicott City, Maryland is at coordinates 39°16′09″N 76°49′50″W / 39.269257, -76.830545Coordinates: 39°16′09″N 76°49′50″W / 39.269257, -76.830545

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