| Elkridge Landing | |
|---|---|
 Elkridge Main Street | |
| Location | Elkridge, Maryland |
| Coordinates | 39°12′58.09″N76°42′33.22″W / 39.2161361°N 76.7092278°W |
| Area | 100 acres |
| Founded | 1690 |
| Official name | Elkridge Landing Historic District |
| Designated | 2003 |
| Reference no. | HO-784 |
  Location of Elkridge Landing in Maryland | |
Elkridge Landing was a Patapsco River seaport in Maryland, and is now part of Elkridge, Maryland. The historic Elkridge Furnace Inn site resides within the Patapsco Valley State Park.
Elkridge is located in present-day Howard County, Maryland, west of the Patapsco River, south of Route 1, and with the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B and O Railroad) running through the middle of the historic district. The historic roads are the old Washington Turnpike, now Main Street, Railroad Avenue, Paradise Avenue, Elkridge Heights Road and Furnace Avenue. [1]
Pottery has been found dating back to 1800 B.C.E. and there is evidence of settlement along the Patapsco River until 1500 C.E. [2]
In 1690 the town and seaport of Elkridge Landing was settled in the Patapsco Valley of the Colony of Maryland. [nb 1] It was a deep-water port, with a channel about 10 to 14 feet deep, that brought ships inland from the Chesapeake Bay. [3] Tobacco casks, or hogsheads, were rolled down Rolling Hill to the port by "long strings of slaves" and boarded ships. Manufactured iron was also shipped out of the port. [4] [5]
Native Americans lived north of the Elkridge Landing site in 1692 and rangers were appointed among the settlers to keep watch. [2]
Around 1725 a 28 by 16 foot "Rowling House" with clapboard siding was built on the landing to store tobacco rolled in hogsheads to market. In 1727, the state ended the practice of having ship sailors personally retrieve hogsheads of tobacco themselves. Inland tobacco farms were able to increase productivity by rolling their own hogsheads to ports of Baltimore, Annapolis and Elkridge. [6] Six acres around the Rowling house were surveyed by William Cromwell on 7 February 1743. The site was purchased by Caleb and Edward Dorsey and named "Calebs and Edwards Friendship". [7]
The banks of the Patapsco River had been unearthed to mine for iron stone, which resulted in the displaced sand and earth being dumped into the river, affecting its navigability. In 1753 a law was enacted to prevent the further filling in of the Patapsco River's shipping channel at Elkridge Landing and up to Baltimore. [8] Ships were unable to sail to Elkridge Landing after the first half of the 1700s. [9]
By 1763, 50 percent of Anne Arundel's tobacco production was processed at the landing totaling 1,695 hogsheads. [10] Christ Church Guilford would tax the tobacco to pay for the local sheriff and church expenses. [11]
On April 12, 1733 an act was passed by the Maryland General Assembly making Elkridge Landing the town of Jansen-Town in what was then the County of Ann-Arundel. At that time 40 lots were created on 30 acres of land purchased near or on the Patapasco River. [12] [13]
Caleb Dorsey, an ironmaster aware of iron ore found in the Patapsco River valley, established Dorsey's Forge in 1761. It ran on water power from the river and made nails and horseshoes. During the American Revolutionary War he made cannons and bayonets. As of 1787 there were 9 or more slaves that worked his operation. [14]
In 1822 the business was purchased by Thomas, James and Benjamin Ellicott from Pennsylvania. It was first named Avalon Iron Works, but then became a nail factory and rolling mill. More than 100 people worked at the complex by the 1850s. The forge, factory and mill were destroyed in a flood in 1868. Two structures that remained are in the Patapsco Valley State Park. [14] By 1880, the town was described as "A sorry village on the Patapsco, which once hoped to be the rival of Baltimore." [15]
The town became more prosperous when the Washington Turnpike and the railroad traversed through the town, resulting in new residential and commercial construction. [9] During the American Civil War Union troops were deployed to protect both bridges. [16] In the 1930s when Route 1 skirted the city, many commercial buildings moved alongside the highway. [9]
An application was submitted in 2003 to make it a historic district and is now on the Inventory of Historic Properties with the Maryland Historical Trust. There are business and residential properties built between the 1820s and 1920s within the district. It is one of the oldest settlements in Howard County, Maryland. Elkridge Landing is significant for its historic iron and shipping industries, role in development of the railroads in the 19th century, architecture and its archaeological potential. [17]
In 2015, the Howard County Council approved a payment-in-lieu of taxes agreement for Riverwatch, a middle-income townhouse and apartment development built by the KB Companies in coordination with the Howard County Housing and Community Development on Furnace Avenue replacing a series of small historic single family homes in the neighborhood. [18] [19] [20] [21] [22] [23]
Elkridge is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Howard County, Maryland, United States. The population was 15,593 at the 2010 census. Founded early in the 18th century, Elkridge is located at the confluence of three counties, the other two being Anne Arundel and Baltimore counties.
Ellicott City is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in, and the county seat of, Howard County, Maryland, United States. Part of the Baltimore metropolitan area, its population was 65,834 at the 2010 census, qualifying it as the largest unincorporated county seat in the country.
The Patapsco River mainstem is a 39-mile-long (63 km) river in central Maryland which flows into the Chesapeake Bay. The river's tidal portion forms the harbor for the city of Baltimore. With its South Branch, the Patapsco forms the northern border of Howard County, Maryland. The name "Patapsco" is derived from the Algonquian pota-psk-ut, which translates to "backwater" or "tide covered with froth."
Andrew Ellicott was one of three Quaker brothers from Bucks County, Province of Pennsylvania who chose the 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.
Maryland Route 103 is a state highway in the U.S. state of Maryland. The state highway runs 8.29 miles (13.34 km) from St. Johns Lane in Ellicott City east to Parkway Drive South in Hanover. MD 103 serves as the local complement to MD 100 from Ellicott City in northeastern Howard County through Dorsey to Hanover in northwestern Anne Arundel County. The state highway was constructed from U.S. Route 1 in Elkridge to US 29 in Ellicott City in the 1920s. MD 103's eastern terminus was relocated from Elkridge to US 1 near Dorsey in 1956. When MD 100 was constructed between Glen Burnie and Ellicott City in the 1990s, the state highway was extended to its present western and eastern termini. MD 103 replaced MD 176 from US 1 east to near MD 295.
The Thomas Viaduct spans the Patapsco River and Patapsco Valley between Relay, Maryland and Elkridge, Maryland, USA. It was commissioned by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O); built between July 4, 1833, and July 4, 1835; and named for Philip E. Thomas, the company's first president. It remains the world's oldest multiple arched stone railroad bridge.
The Patterson Viaduct was built by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) as part of its Old Main Line during May to December 1829. The viaduct spanned the Patapsco River at Ilchester, Maryland. It was heavily damaged by a flood in 1866 and subsequently replaced with other structures.
Glenelg is an unincorporated community in Howard County, Maryland, United States. It is located in the 21737 zip code, and is part of the 410 area code. It is the home town of Glenelg High School.
Ilchester is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Howard County, Maryland, United States. The population was 23,476 at the 2010 census. It was named after the village of Ilchester in the English county of Somerset.
Troy, also known as Troy Hill Farm, is a historic slave plantation home located at Elkridge, Howard County, Maryland, United States. It is associated with the prominent Dorsey family of Howard County, who also built Dorsey Hall.
The Elkridge Furnace Complex is a historic iron works located on approximately 16 acres (6.5 ha) at Elkridge, Howard County, Maryland.
John Ellicott was one of three Quaker brothers from Bucks County, Pennsylvania who chose the picturesque wilderness up river from Elk Ridge Landing to establish a flour mill. John and Andrew Ellicott moved to Baltimore County, Maryland in May 1771 purchasing 50 acres of Baltimore County land from Emanuel Teal and 35 acres from William Williams. John, Andrew, and Joseph Ellicott founded Ellicott's Mills which became one of the largest milling and manufacturing towns in the East.
The Belmont Estate, now Belmont Manor and Historic Park, is a former forced-labor farm located at Elkridge, Howard County, Maryland, United States. Founded in the 1730s and known in the Colonial period as "Moore's Morning Choice", it was one of the earliest forced-labor farms in Howard County, Maryland. Its 1738 plantation house is one of the finest examples of Colonial Georgian architectural style in Maryland.
Thomas Beale Dorsey (1780–1855) was an American farmer, lawyer, politician and judge serving Anne Arundel County and Maryland.
The Hockley Forge and Mill are a collection of colonial-era industrial buildings along the Patapsco River near modern Elkridge, Maryland. Located at the river's head of navigation, the site is a flat section of land along the Patapsco River valley with steep embankments on either side. At its 19th-century peak, the site held more than 30 industrial buildings.
Bethesda is located in Ellicott City, Maryland within Howard County, Maryland, United States. The home is sometimes mistakenly referred to as "Dower House" because a small dower house exists on the property. A "dower" is a widow's share for life of her husband's estate, so a dower house is where a widowed mother would live when her son and his family inherited and moved into the main house.
Woodlawn or Papillon was manor home in Ellicott City, Howard County, Maryland in the United States.
The Patapsco Valley is a small valley surrounding the Patapsco River in central Maryland. The region is known for its historical significance as a major economic and industrial center in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
The Oaks is a historic home and slave plantation located in Ellicott City, Howard County, Maryland.