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Ellicott City Maryland
Model of town as it may have appeared
in the Nineteenth Century
Model Diorama by Mr. Kirchman

This little model was built to show the extent to which Ellicott's Mills
had developed by the middle of the Nineteenth century! It was founded
in 1772 by John, Joseph and Andrew Ellicott, who convinced Charles
Carroll [the one who signed the Declaration of Independence] to move
away from single crop agriculture on his estate of Carrollton. Tobacco
was the big cash crop and that was all Carroll grew in the beginning.

The brothers built a flour mill and promoted a more diverse agriculture.
That kept the region from experiencing the soil depletion that occured
in many plantation areas. Carroll planted wheat and other crops and the
Ellicotts milled the wheat. They also partnered with Charles Carroll to
build a turnpike which was later incorporated into the great National Road

The Ellicotts operated a sawmill and another mill for crushing limestone.
This was usd to enrich the fields. They also operated an iron rolling mill.
Joseph Scott's "Geographical Description of the States of Maryland and
Delaware," published in 1807, tells of the economic diversity Ellicott's Mills
had achieved at this early date. "Several kinds of mechanical trades are
carried on here; such as coopers, blacksmiths, tanners, shoemakers, saddlers."