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| Sign outside the B&O Railroad Museum |
This is part 2 of our visit to Historic Ellicott City, Maryland. In this blog we'll explore the Baltimore and Ohio (B&O) Railroad museum, The John Ellicott Store (one of the town's founders in 1771), and some "haunts" - literally.
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| James at the B&O Passenger Railway station (now museum) |
B&O RAILROAD STATION MUSEUM - According to B&O Rail.org, the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Museum:
Ellicott City Station is the oldest surviving railroad station in
America, and was the original terminus of the first 13 miles of
commercial railroad in the country. The site features the Main Depot
building, constructed in 1830-31; the freight house, designed by E.
Francis Baldwin and built in 1885; a replica of the first horse-drawn
passenger rail car, the Pioneer; and a 1927 "I-5" Caboose. Housed
in the freight house is a 40-foot HO-gauge model train layout showing
the original thirteen miles of commercial rail track stretching from
Baltimore to Ellicott Mills. The operating layout features an
introductory video and light show. Living
historians tell the story of the development of the Baltimore &
Ohio Railroad, the nation's first common carrier railroad, and its
impact on Ellicott City between 1827 and 1868.
The railroad was one of the main concerns during the Civil War. The Union and Confederate troops wanted to control it.
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| Rob, James and Tom in Ellicott City |
HAUNTED HISTORY - One of the stories that the local ghost tours cite is that a Confederate soldier was being held at the station, escaped and ran down the tracks. The soldier jumped on a train that took him right back to the station where he was re-captured. He was brought into a hotel next to the B&O Passenger station where he broke loose, ran down a hallway and out to a stone stairway on the other side of the hotel where he fell to his death. The solider's ghost is reputed to still haunt the halls of the building that was once a hotel.
MORE HAUNTS - 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.
VIDEO OF THE B&O RAIL ROAD MUSEUM: http://youtu.be/GtE3hrdCd1I
Published on Jun 14, 2012
America's Oldest Railroad Station, 2711 Maryland Ave., Ellicott City, MD 21043, www.ecborail.org | 410.461.1945
ANOTHER HISTORIC BUILDING -
One of the buildings that still stand despite a history of flooding is Jonathan Ellicott's former home.
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| Jonathan Ellicott's Store |
NEXT: ROB AND JAMES GO TO BALTIMORE!
