Ellicott Mills was founded as a Quaker community by three brothers who had moved here from Buck's County, Pennsylvania. John, Joseph, and Andrew Ellicott established Ellicott's Mills in 1772 paying three dollars per acre. The Ellicotts were looking for a place to build a grist mill. The brothers selected the area because of the swiftly flowing Patapsco river. At first, unbelievable today, they had to ford the river. The first building was of log construction, then a sawmill to prepare lumber for building. The Jonathan Ellicott house & store was built 1772 and traded as Ellicott & Company. Eventually they built a wooden bridge spanning the Patapsco. They established several mills for milling flour and manufacturing iron products.
The Ellicotts were instrumental in convincing the local farmers, including Charles Carroll of Carrollton, to convert their tobacco fields to the growth of wheat. Tobacco had depleted the soil of it's nutrients and they had discovered that common plaster was a good fertilizer.
After being granted a city charter, Ellicott's Mills name is changed to Ellicott City in 1867.
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