Jim's Visit #2: Touring Ellicott City, Maryland!

Rob and Jim outside the first B&O Railroad passenger station

This is part two of our friend Jim's visit. This time we took him to Ellicott City, Maryland!  Here we'll just highlight the famous B&O Museum and an historic cabin. If you visit, be sure to take the ghost tour, too!

WHAT IS ELLICOTT CITY? -  Founded in 1772, the town features the B. & O. Railroad Museum's branch at the Ellicott City Station, built in 1830, and the first terminus of the initial line then constructed, and a downtown historic district in the pictureseque stream valley of the upper Western Branch of the Patapsco River, which is a very popular destination among antiques shoppers, and historical tourists with restaurants, eclectic boutique shops, coffee shops, a tea room and many historic sites.

Historic buildings along Main Street

 THE B&O RAILROAD STATION - This was a station that acted as a headquarters for Union Soldiers trying to maintain control of Baltimore from the Confederacy. It's now a museum located at 2711 Maryland Ave, Ellicott City, MD 21043. 

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

Jim at the Cabin

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  
THOMAS ISAAC LOG CABIN - This cabin sits at the top of the hill (on Main Street) on one end of the city. The other end of the city is a confluence of two rivers. Named after one of its 19th century owners, this rustic structure was built circa 1780 by an early settler of Ellicott's Mills. The cabin was reconstructed on the present site in the late 20th Century. Here, visitors can learn about the settlement and development of the region from authentically costumed historians and artisans. The cabin is located at the intersection of Main St. and Ellicott Mills Dr. in Historic Ellicott City.

NEXT: JIM'S VISIT TO ANNAPOLIS