A railroad station dating from 1831 gives Ellicott City a tangible historical starting point. The Baltimore & Ohio Ellicott City Station Museum is housed in the oldest surviving railroad station in the United States. Railroad history stands alongside educational and local history here; park trails offer a different focus, with their varying lengths and surfaces.
Railroads, Education, and Regional History
The Baltimore & Ohio Ellicott City Station was built in 1831. The museum’s Freight House contains an HO-scale model depicting the first 13 miles of the B&O Railroad from Baltimore to Ellicott City. This brings two aspects of railroad history together: a preserved station and a depiction of a specific stretch of track. Ellicott City’s Main Street offers another historical connection. It is part of the National Road, the first federally funded long-distance road in the United States.
The history of education also has specific dates: the Patapsco Female Institute offered a curriculum for young women from 1837 to 1891. The Ellicott City Firehouse Museum showcases the extraordinary challenges of firefighting in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The Museum of Howard County History houses hundreds of objects that tell the story of Howard County, from the period before European settlement to more recent events. Topics include mills and businesses, homes, Indigenous history, and today’s diverse society. Other topics range from railroads to the automobile age.
Walks with a Historical Focus
The Ellicott City Underground Railroad Walking Tour focuses on the history of freedom seekers. The 0.5-mile tour passes through the Ellicott City Historic District and shares stories of freedom seekers from Ellicott Mills and the surrounding area. It begins at Court Place and then leads to an interpretive marker above the Historic Howard County Jail. Another regional perspective concerns the National Road: near Baltimore and Ellicott City, freedom seekers used the road as an escape route to freedom.
Another option is the Old Ellicott City Walking Tour, a guided tour of about two miles that begins at Mt Ida. The route lengths differ considerably: the Underground Railroad Walking Tour covers 0.5 miles, while the Old Ellicott City Walking Tour is about two miles. Their starting points also differ: Court Place and Mt Ida.
Park Trails, Water, and Distances
Centennial Park in Ellicott City has a 54-acre man-made lake and a 2.4-mile paved trail. Font Hill Wetlands Park in Ellicott City has three connected ponds with a boardwalk around them. Cypressmede Park has a 0.6-mile natural-surface and wood-chip trail. Meadowbrook Park has approximately 2.5 miles of sidewalks and trails around the park.
The park trails also make it easy to compare the options: the trail at Centennial Park is paved, while Cypressmede offers a natural-surface and wood-chip trail. The approximate distance at Meadowbrook Park refers to sidewalks and trails around the park. Centennial Park and Font Hill Wetlands Park also differ in their water features: one has a man-made lake, while at the other, the three connected ponds are the focal point of the surrounding boardwalk.
Discover More Destinations
Discover more destinations: Columbia, Elkridge, Jessup
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