Howard County was created in 1850 (Chapter 22, Acts of 1838 and confirmed by Chapter 50, Acts of 1839.) and was formed from Anne Arundel and Baltimore Counties. The County was named for John Eager Howard (June 4, 1752 - October 12, 1827) was an American Revolutionary War officer and governor of Maryland. The County Seat is Ellicott City. The county was formed in 1838 as Howard District of Anne Arundel Co., but did not gain full county status until 1850.
Although not represented in the General Assembly, the district enjoyed the status of a county. The county itself was created in 1851, being before then a part of Anne Arundel County. However in 1838 the Howard District of Anne Arundel County was established. This district became Howard County and from 1838 on it had some separate records apart from Anne Arundel County, such as mariage licenses. For the 1850 and earlier census you will need to look under Anne Arundel County. Before 1726 some portions of Howard County were a part of Baltimore County. It was named for John Eager Howard (1752-1827), Revolutionary officer, Maryland governor, and statesman. The county is bordered on the north by Carroll County, the east and southwest by Baltimore and Anne Arundel counties, and the south and southwest by Prince George's and Montgomery counties.
Ellicott City, the county seat, developed around the Ellicott's grist and flour mills established in 1774 on the east bank of the Patapsco River. For sixty years the Ellicott family successfully operated a mill here, and Patapsco Flour became widely known. During the Panic of 1837, the mill was turned over to Charles Gambrills and Charles Carroll, son of Charles Carroll of Carrollton. Thirty one years later the mill, bridge, dam, and several houses were washed away in a flood and forty-two persons were drowned. In 1972 and again in 1975 severe damage was caused by hurricanes Agnes and Eloise respectively.
The Howard County courthouse, like most buildings in Ellicott city, is a Classic-Revival structure of local granite. The battered old British cannon on the lawn, captured at the Battle of Bladensburg in the War of 1812 by "Bachelor" John Dorsey, was one of the few souvenirs the Americans got out of that encounter. Other historic sites of interest in the county are Burleigh Manor, a yellow brick house built around 1803 by Colonel Rezin Hammond, a Revolutionary War leader who participated in the burning of the Peggy Stewart in Annapolis; Walnut Grove, the home of Captain Gassaway Watkins, commander of the Fifth Maryland Infantry at the Battle of Cowpens during the Revolution and of troops at Annapolis during the War of 1812; and the Thomas Viaduct, a great stone bridge designed by Benjamin H. Latrobe, son of the architect Benjamin Latrobe, to carry the tiny locomotives and wooden coaches of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad across the Patapsco River. See also County History for more historical details.
Howard County Communities Include Clarksville, Cooksville, Daniels, Dayton, Dorsey, Fulton, Glenelg, Glenwood, Granite, Hanover, Henryton, Highland, Ilchester, Lisbon, Marriottsville, Scaggsville, Simpsonville, West Friendship, Woodbine, Woodstock. (Unincorporated areas are also considered as towns by many people and listed in many collections of towns, but they lack local government.)
Various organizations, such as the United States Census Bureau, the United States Postal Service, and local chambers of commerce, define the communities they wish to recognize differently, and since they are not incorporated, their boundaries have no official status outside the organizations in question. The Census Bureau recognizes the following census-designated places in the county: Columbia, Elkridge, Ellicott City, Jessup, North Laurel, Savage-Guilford
PLEASE READ!! Please call the clerk's department to confirm hours, mailing address, fees and other specifics before visiting or requesting information because of sometimes changing contact information. The county was formed in 1838 as Howard District of Anne Arundel Co., but did not gain full county status until 1850.
Government records of Howard County are available in Original , Microfilm and Digital formats from the Maryland State Archives The Official County website is located at http://www.co.ho.md.us/.See also Courthouse History. NOTE: The record dates below are from the earliest date to present time.
Howard County Register of Wills/ Clerk of Orphan's Court has Probate Records from 1840 and is located at 8360 Court Ave.,
Ellicott City, MD 21043;
(888) 848-0136 The Register of Wills is responsible for appointing personal representatives to administer decedents estates and for overseeing the proper and timely administration of these proceedings. We also perform the following duties: assist and advise the public in the preparation of all required forms; maintain and preserve the permanent record of all proceedings; serve as the Clerk to the Orphans Court; track estates and refer delinquent matters to the Court; determine and collect inheritance taxes and probate fees/court costs; audit accounts of personal representatives and guardians; and, verify compliance with court orders.
Howard County Circuit Court Clerk has Land Records from 1839 and Marriage Records from earliest to 1919 and is located at 3430 Courthouse Drive,
Ellicott City, MD 21043-4300;
Clerk of the Court -- 410-313-2111 The Clerk's responsibilities include supervising Clerk's office personnel in the civil, criminal, courtroom clerks, business license, marriage license, land records, and juvenile units.
Below is a list of online resources for Howard County Court Records. Email us with websites containing Howard County Court Records by clicking the link below:
Maryland Immigration & Emigration Records - Immigration records help the family historian to understand the movements of their ancestry as they relocated to different parts of the world.
Click Here to Search Maryland Birth, Marriage & Death Records! - Birth, marriage, and death records are connected with central life events. They are prime sources for genealogical information. Look also for baptism, christening, and burial records in this collection.
Division of Vital Records Department of Health & Mental Hygiene, 6550 Reisterstown Rd., Reistertown Road Plaza, Baltimore, MD 21215; (410) 764-3038 or (800), 832-3277,
Fax: (410) 358-0738. The Division of Vital Records of the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene issues certified copies of birth, death, fetal death, and marriage certificates for events that occur in Maryland. The Division also provides divorce verifications. The Division provides information on procedures to follow for registering an adoption, legitimation, or an adjudication of paternity. Howard County Health Department has Births, Death and marriage records after 1919;
6751 Columbia Gateway Drive,
Columbia, MD 21046-2147;
Ph: 410-313-6300,
Toll free: 1-866-313-6300
Birth Certificates: The state of Maryland began issuing certificates for births since Aug 1898. Birth certificates for individuals born in Maryland after 1939 are also available for same day service at local health departments in all jurisdictions except Montgomery County, Baltimore City, and Baltimore County. The State of Maryland Archives has Birth certificates since 1875 for Baltimore City and 1898 for Maryland counties.
Cost: $12.00 per certificate, payment is payable to the Division of Vital Records. If no record is found or no copy is made, state law requires that we keep $12.00 for a searching fee. Please do not send cash in the mail.
Death Certificates:The state of Maryland began issuing certificates for deaths since since 1969. Within 30 days of a death, copies of the record may also be obtained from the local health department in which the funeral director filed the death certificate, with the exception of Baltimore City and Baltimore County health departments. You must apply in person at the appropriate local health department. The State of Maryland Archives has Death certificates prior to 1969.
Cost: $12.00 per certificate, payment is payable to the Division of Vital Records. If no record is found or no copy is made, state law requires that we keep $12.00 for a searching fee. Please do not send cash in the mail.
Marriage Certificates: The state of Maryland began issuing certificates for marriage since since Jan 1, 1990. The State of Maryland Archives has Marriage certificates since 1640.
Marriage Certificates are availible since before Jan 1, 1990 from the Clerk of the Circuit Court in the county where the license was issued.
Cost: $12.00 from the Division of Vital Records, payment is payable to the Division of Vital Records. If no record is found or no copy is made, state law requires that we keep $12.00 for a searching fee. Please do not send cash in the mail. Contact the Maryland Archives and the Clerk of the Circuit Court for fees.
Divorce Certificates: The Division of Vital Records issues verification only since Jan 1961. Certified copies should be available from the Clerk of the Circuit Court in the county where the divorce was granted. Fees vary.
Cost: $12.00 from the Division of Vital Records, payment is payable to the Division of Vital Records. If no record is found or no copy is made, state law requires that we keep $12.00 for a searching fee. Please do not send cash in the mail. Contact the Clerk of the Circuit Court for fees.
Order Online: You can also order Order Electronically and get the certificates within 2-5 days by ordering below
Processing Time: Allow 3 to 6 weeks for the search
by mail for Birth, Marriage, Divorce or Death Records. MAIL or 2-5 Days when you order ELECTRONICALLY.
Order In Person: Birth certificates for individuals with valid, government-issued photo identification who were born in Maryland are available for same day service at the Division of Vital Records in Baltimore. Same day service is also available at local health departments in all jurisdictions except Montgomery County, Baltimore City, and Baltimore County for individuals born after 1939. Order By Mail: Turn around is estimated at 3 to 6 weeks from the day the request is received. However, people are urged to allow sufficient time for delivery for all birth/death records. Mail a check or money order of $12.00 for each certified certificate. Do not send cash. Mail to the following address: The Division of Vital Records, 6550 Reisterstown Road, Reisterstown Road Plaza, Baltimore, MD 21215. Please include return address on envelope and application form.
The Maryland State Archives maintains many records that are invaluable for biographical and genealogical research. These include birth records, adoption records, marriage records, divorce records, and death records, and some indices to these records.
Below is a list of online resources for Howard County Vital Records. Email us with websites containing Howard County Vital Records by clicking the link below:
Search the Social Security Death Index for FREE - Search over 82 million death records and get genealogical information crucial to your family research. New content added weekly! Most comprehensive SSDI site online!
Research Death records In The World's Largest Newspaper Archive at NewpaperArchive.com! - Find thousands of historical Maryland newspaper articles about deaths. Search for local articles about an old family friend that died many years ago or a celebrity that committed suicide. Historical newspapers contain a wealth of information about the deceased.
Click Here to Search Maryland Voter Lists & Census Records! - Few, if any, records reveal as many details about individuals and families as do government census records. Substitute records can be used when the official census is unavailable.
Below is a list of online resources for Howard County Census Records. Email us with websites containing Howard County Census Records by clicking the link below:
Maryland Census, 1772-1890: This collection contains the following indexes: 1790 Federal Census Index; 1800 Federal Census Index; 1810 Federal Census Index; 1820 Federal Census Index; 1830 Federal Census Index; 1840 Federal Census Index; 1840 Pensioners List; 1850 Federal Census Index; 1850 Slave Schedules; 1860 Federal Census Index; 1860 Slave Schedules; 1890 Naval Veterans; Early Census Index.
Maryland Colonial Census, 1776: Granted by the King of England to George Calvert in 1632, Maryland was home to nearly 300,000 people before the Revolutionary War. This database is a transcription of a colonial census taken in 1776.
Genealogy Atlas has images of old American atlases during the years 1795, 1814, 1822, 1823, 1836, 1838, 1845, 1856, 1866, 1879 and 1897 for Ohio and other states.
You can view rotating animated maps for Maryland showing all the county boundaries for each census year overlayed with past and present maps so you can see the changes in county boundaries. You can view a list of maps for other states at Census Maps
You can view rotating animated maps for Maryland showing all the county boundary changes for each year overlayed with past and present maps so you can see the changes in county boundaries. The Maryland Department of Transportation has county maps the show the locations of churches, cemeteries, roads, ect... free for viewing or download here
Below is a list of online resources for Howard County Maps. Email us with websites containing Howard County Maps by clicking the link below:
Click Here to Search Maryland Military Records! - Military and civil service records provide unique facts and insights into the lives of men and women who have served their country at home and abroad.
The uses and value of military records in genealogical research for ancestors who were veterans are obvious, but military records can also be important to re-searchers whose direct ancestors were not soldiers in any war. The fathers, grandfathers, brothers, and other close relatives of an ancestor may have served in a war, and their service or pension records could contain information that will assist in further identifying the family of primary interest. Due to the amount of genealogical information contained in some military pension files, they should never be overlooked during the research process. Those records not containing specific genealogical information are of historic value and should be included in any overall research design.
Below is a list of online resources for Howard County Military Records. Email us with websites containing Howard County Military Records by clicking the link below:
Maryland Military Men, 1917-18: This database is a massive collection of military records for men who served in the war from Maryland.
Maryland Revolutionary War Records: This database is a collection of pension and bounty land claims on the state for military service in the war.
Maryland Soldiers in the Civil War, Vol. 1: With over 36,000 records of soldiers, sailors and marines in the Union Army and Navy from 1861 to 1865, this database is of interest to anyone with ancestors from Maryland who served in the Civil War.
Maryland Soldiers in the Civil War, Vol. 2: The second volume in a two-volume series, this volume embraces all of the sailors, marines and other troops from Maryland who served in the Union army or navy.
Southern Claims Commission from the State of Maryland (The National Archives): View, Print Copy & Save Original Documents In the 1870s, southerners claimed compensation from the U.S. government for items used by the Union Army, ranging from corn and horses, to trees and church buildings.
Revolutionary War Rolls, 1775-1783 from the State of Maryland (The National Archives): View, Print Copy & Save Original Documents in NARA publication M246 include muster rolls, payrolls, strength returns, and other miscellaneous personnel, pay, and supply records of American Army units, 1775-83.
Available at the Maryland State Archives with index is a Maryland tax assessment of 1783, which is “more complete” than the 1776 or 1778 “censuses”. Robert W. Barnes and Bettie Stirling Carothers abstracted the 1783 tax list of Baltimore County, Maryland but while it has some omissions, it serves as an index to photocopies of the originals published as Maryland Tax List 1783 Baltimore County from the collection of the Maryland Historical Society (Philadelphia: Historic Publications, 1970). The counties of Calvert, Cecil, Harford, and Talbot are covered by Bettie Carothers, comp., 1783 Tax List of Maryland (Part I: Cecil, Talbot, Harford, and Calvert Counties) (Lutherville, Md.: Pub. by compiler, 1977). Furthermore, there is a two part index to the 1783 list at the state archives, one by names of property owners, the other by names of the tracts.
The earliest tax records are to be found among the proprietary papers, dating from the 1630s. Some early tax records have been published, such as Raymond B. Clark, Jr., and Sara Seth Clark, comps., Baltimore County, Maryland, tax list, 1699-1706. At the Maryland State Archives is a tax list for St. Anne's Parish, Anne Arundel County, 1764-66. Also here are the surviving 1798 U.S. direct tax records, for Anne Arundel County (indexed), Baltimore County and City, and the counties of Caroline, Charles, Harford, Prince George's, Queen Anne's, Saint Mary's, Somerset, and Talbot. Richard J. Cox edited Name Index to the Baltimore City Tax Records: 1798-1808 Of the Baltimore City Archives, (Baltimore: Baltimore City Archives and Records Management Office, 1981).
Below is a list of online resources for Howard County Tax Records. Email us with websites containing Howard County Tax Records by clicking the link below:
The Repositories
in this section are Archives, Libraries, Museums, Genealogical
and Historical Societies. Many County Historical and Genealogical
Societies publish magazines and/or news letters on a monthly,
quarterly, bi-annual or annual basis. Contacting the local societies
should not be over looked. State Archives and Societies are
usually much larger and better organized with much larger archived
materials than their smaller county cousins but they can be
more generalized and over look the smaller details that local
societies tend to have. Libraries can also be a good place to
look for local information. Some libraries have a genealogy
section and may have some resources that are not located at
archives or societies. Also, take a special look at any museums
in the area. They sometimes have photos and items from years
gone by as well as information of a genealogical interest. All
these places are vitally important to the family genealogist
and must not be passed over.
Below is a list of online resources for Howard County Genealogical Addresses. Email us with websites containing Howard County Genealogical Addresses by clicking the link below:
Howard County Historical Society, P. O. Box 109,
8324 - 8328 Court Ave., Ellicott City, MD 21041 - 0109,
(410) 461-1050 (museum); (410) 750-0370 (library); fax: (410) 750-0370,
e-mail: hchs@clark.net
Maryland Genealogical Society, 201 W. Monument Street, Baltimore, MD 21201-4674. Publishes the Maryland Genealogical Society Bulletin Quarterly.
The Maryland Historical Society, 201 W. Monument Street, Baltimore MD 21201-4674 Has published a quarterly magazine Maryland Historical Magazinefor over 90 years
Maryland Newspapers & Periodicals Records - Newspapers and periodicals are the diaries of local communities. They are excellent sources of family history details - often recorded nowhere else. Look for obituaries, marriages, legal notices, and more found in our Historical Newspaper Archives.
Click Here to Search Maryland Obituary Records! - This database is a compilation of obituaries published in U.S. newspapers, collected from various online sources. Obituaries can vary in the amount of information they contain, but many of them are genealogical goldmines, including information such as names, dates, places of birth and death, marriage information, and family relationships.
A search for church records should begin with Directory of Maryland church records (Westminster, Md.: Family Line Publications, 1987), arranged by county and giving a range of dates of available records for over 2,600 churches with mailing addresses. Also helpful are The First Parishes of the Province of Maryland (Baltimore: The Norman, Remington Co., 1923).
The largest collection of church records is at the Maryland State Archives, with a consolidated index, and many are at the Maryland State Archives, which has various original and microfilmed records, many with indexes. Some church records have been published in the Maryland Genealogical Society Bulletin or in individual books, such as those for St. Paul's in Baltimore and for many German churches in the western counties.
Although Catholicism is very important to the history of Maryland, the disenfranchisement of Catholics after the establishment of the Anglican church in 1692 largely contributed to the lack of record keeping prior to the Revolutionary War. One source for St. Marys County in the 1700s, however, is Catholic Families of Southern Maryland: Records of Catholic Residents of St. Mary's County in the Eighteenth Century (1980; reprint, Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1985). Records of the German churches and the Society of Friends are very good. The latter were early settlers of Maryland, along with Anglicans and Catholics. Quaker records in Maryland, (Annapolis: Hall of Records Commission, 1966) is an excellent guide to the original and microfilmed Friends' records at the Maryland State Archives. Some Quaker records were published in Kenneth Carroll, Quakerism on the Eastern Shore (Baltimore: Maryland Historical Society, 1970) and other records are at the Maryland Historical Society, the state archives, and the Friends Historical Library in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania.
The Maryland State Archives has indexes to cemetery records for various time periods. Some have been published in the Maryland Genealogical Society Bulletin and other journals and in individual works covering large parts of Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Dorchester, Frederick, Garrett, St. Marys, Somerset, Wicomico, and Worcester counties. A great number of grave marker inscriptions have been transcribed by members of the Maryland DAR and will be found at the Maryland Historical Society and the DAR Library in Washington, D.C. See also Historic graves of Maryland and the District of Columbia (1908; reprint, Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1967).
Below is a list of online resources for Howard County Cemetery & Church Records. Email us with websites containing Howard County Cemetery & Church Records by clicking the link below:
Find Obituaries in The World's Largest Newspaper Archive at NewpaperArchive.com! - Find thousands of Maryland obituaries to help you research your family history. Search for a Maryland newspaper obituary about your ancestor or a celebrity. Begin your search today and find death notices and funeral announcements printed in newspapers from Maryland.
Click Here to Search Maryland Family Tree Records! - The use of published genealogies, electronic files containing genealogical lineage, and other compiled sources can be of tremendous value to a researcher.
When view family trees online or not, be sure to only take the info at face value and always follow up with your own sources or verify the ones they provide. Below is a list of online resources for Howard County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information. Email us with websites containing Howard County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information by clicking the link below:
Genealogy Encyclopedia: General Abbreviations, Early Illnesses, Nickname Meanings, Worldwide Epidemics, Early Occupations, Common Terms, Censuses Explained, Free Genealogical Forms
Nichols and Related Families of Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virgina.
Maryland Family & Local History Records - The Family & Local Histories Collection lets you read journals, memoirs, and other first-hand historical narratives right on your computer. Gathered from some of the world's finest libraries, these materials may provide hard-to-find town, county, and state information; tax records and wills; military, church, and court records; as well as photographs, stories, and maps.
Originally part of Anne Arundel County, Howard County was designated the Howard District in 1839, in honor of John Eager Howard, statesman, soldier, and fifth governor of Maryland. Howard County became the 21st of Maryland’s 23 counties in 1851.
Howard County was mainly the farming & hunting grounds of Native Americans until 1608 when Captain John Smith of Jamestown sailed up the Patapsco River. However, the first colonial settler, a Puritan named Adam Shippley, came much later, in 1687, when Lord Baltimore granted him a home on the Patapsco River. It is also at this time when Howard County’s tradition of farming started.
In the 1700s, the family of Charles Carroll, one of the original signers of the Declaration of Independence, acquired nearly 13,000 acres of farmland & forests. On this property, Carroll built an elaborate masonry home in grand plantation style, located several miles west of Ellicott City. It was named Doughoregan Manor. There is even a chapel in one ell. Today, descendants of the Carroll family still live on the property, of which only 3,000 acres remain. This is a private residence, not open to the public.
On Howard County’s eastern edge, a great port was established in the late 1700s. The Great Falls of the Patapsco River terminated the navigable route upstream, just northwest of what is today called Elkridge. It was a natural location for the establishment of Elk Ridge Landing as a transfer point for goods. Ships coming from England and points farther east brought furniture, spices and other finished goods to trade. "Hogs heads" of tobacco and iron from the nearby furnace were shipped back to England. Elk Ridge Landing became the largest colonial seaport north of Annapolis.
In 1772, the Quaker brothers, John, Andrew and Joseph Ellicott of Bucks County, Pennsylvania, chose the picturesque wilderness upstream from Elk Ridge Landing to establish a flour mill. The brothers helped revolutionize farming in this area by persuading farmers to plant wheat instead of tobacco, and by introducing fertilizer to revitalize the depleted soil. Charles Carroll was one of the first and the most influential converts from tobacco to wheat. It was to Carroll's estate that the Ellicott brothers built the first part of a road that was later to become the National Road, America's first interstate highway.
The Ellicotts made significant contributions to the area and the era. They helped create Ellicott's Mills, one of the greatest milling and manufacturing towns in the east at that time. They built roads, bridges and a wharf in Baltimore, introduced the wagon brake and plaster as a fertilizer, erected iron works, a furnace, rolling mills, schools, a meeting house, shops and beautiful granite houses.
In 1791, Andrew Ellicott was commissioned to survey the boundaries for the nation's new capital, Washington, D. C. Benjamin Banneker, an African American scientist and friend of the family, joined him in his work. Banneker maintained notes for Ellicott, made calculations as required and used astronomical instruments to establish base survey points.
On the southern corner of the county, along the Little Patuxent River, Savage Mill began operation in 1822. One of the county’s longest-operating companies, Savage Mill functioned as a textile mill from 1822 until 1947.
In 1830, the railroad came to Howard County. The Baltimore & Ohio's first 13 miles of track connected Baltimore with the thriving community of Ellicott's Mills. America's first railroad terminal was built there in 1831. The Ellicott City B & O Railroad Station Museum is a National Historic Landmark.
The first curved stone-arch bridge in America carried the B&O rail line over the Patapsco River near Elkridge. The Thomas Viaduct, built in 1835, is a 700-foot long structure of eight elliptical arches. Despite the opinions of skeptics, not only did it support the first trains, it has remained in service for more than 150 years. Another significant railroad bridge on the early B&O line is the Bollman Truss Bridge. This wrought and cast-iron, semi-suspension bridge was brought to Savage in 1860 when the B&O Railroad serviced the Mill. One of the last remaining examples of this design, the Bollman Truss Bridge is a National Historic Landmark. It now carries pedestrians across the Little Patuxent River behind Historic Savage Mill.
The Patapsco Female Institute was one of the first schools in the country to educate women academically. Built in 1837, the school (now an historic park) was constructed on land in Ellicott’s Mills donated, in part, by the Ellicott brothers.
In 1839, the area was designated Howard District of Anne Arundel County. The small, granite building at the top of Main Street in Ellicott City served as an interim courthouse from 1840 to 1843. Howard County became an independent jurisdiction in 1851.
The small town of Lisbon in western Howard County developed as a farming community before the Civil War. It was also a supply depot and waystation on the Old Frederick Turnpike. In the mid-1800s, Lisbon was a summer resort for city dwellers escaping the heat. At the corner of Rt. 108 & 32, you’ll find Clarksville, a prosperous little town in the late 1800s with its post office, grocer, four blacksmiths & wheelwrights, five stores, three carpenters and three doctors.
When the Civil War broke out, the county was divided, much like the rest of the nation was. The railroad and its bridges became prime targets of the Confederate Army. Cooksville, in western Howard County, played a part in the outcome of the Gettysburg campaign. Heading north to assist Gen. Lee in the Battle of Gettysburg, JEB Stuart was delayed here in a skirmish with opposing forces bent on stopping him. He captured the enemy troops, but was late getting to Pennsylvania. By that time, the tide was already turned against the Confederates.
The founders of Howard County were, indeed, visionaries. In the 1960s, a visionary by the name of James Rouse, purchased 14,000 acres and began creating Columbia, one of America's premier planned communities.
Ellicott City
Ellicott City celebrated its bicentennial in 1972, four years before the United States; while Columbia, the metropolitan center, was carved out of rolling Howard County farmland only thiry years ago.
Although the first settlers of Maryland inhabited the low lands near the Chesapeake Bay, Thomas Brown, known as the Patuxent Ranger, had traveled as far as Clarksville in Howard County by 1699. Around 1700 the Piedmont area and Howard County were being surveyed and settled. In 1707, a large land grant, Doughoregan Manor, was deeded to Charles Carroll, grandfather of the signer of the Declaration of Independence, Charles Carroll III.
Farming was the way of life for the early settlers here, with tobacco the basis of the economy. However, commerce and industry were also significant early on, with the availability of water power along the rivers and the port at Elk Ridge Landing. Local iron ore and tobacco were shipped from the Landing along a navigable channel on the Patapsco River to the Chesapeake Bay.
Originally part of Anne Arundel County, the area was designated the Howard District in 1839, in honor of John Eager Howard, statesman, soldier, and fifth governor of Maryland. Howard County became the 21st of Maryland's 23 counties in 1851, with the county seat at Ellicott Mills.
Many distinguished statesmen and leaders, including four Maryland governors have called Howard County home. George Howard was the 22nd governor and the son of John Eager Howard, the County's namesake. T. Watkins Ligon was the 30th governor and is interred at St. Johns Episcopal Cemetery in Howard County. John Lee Carroll was the 37th governor. Edwin Warfield, Maryland's 45th governor, is the only native-born Howard County state executive.
At the time of the American Revolution, Charles Carroll III wrote many articles denouncing the Stamp Act and defending the position of the colonists. Carroll was sent to Philadelphia as a delegate to the Second Continental Congress and while there signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776.
The County's growth both past and present is closely associated with its location along major travel routes. The Patapsco River, old post roads and turnpikes, the B & O Railroad, major north-south and east-west highways have brought both settlers and commerce to the County.
Columbia
In October 1963, the Rouse Company announced to the citizens of Howard County, Maryland, that it had acquired more than 21 square miles --one tenth of the county's total land area--for the
purpose of building a new city.
In disclosing his company's plans to a rural Howard County citizenry, James W. Rouse, Chairman of The Rouse Company Board of Directors, described his vision for the new city. Columbia, because it would be planned from the beginning, would avoid the sprawl, waste and inconveniences that have come to typify small scale development. The new city, he said, would provide jobs and recreation, shopping and health care, commercial and industrial development, along with a broad range of housing choices.
Long before construction began in Columbia, the city's first planners met with a group of 18 educators and sociologists, all experts in their fields, to help determine what the city's social
objectives should be and how they might be reflected in the physical plan. Columbia was also thought of as a group of neighborhoods within villages, almost like a system of small towns, a city that is open to everyone-people of all ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds.
Actually, by the time the land was acquired, the city itself still had no name. Columbia was chosen because it already appeared on roadmaps in the form of "Columbia Pike." In addition, James Rouse said, "it embraced both Maryland and Washington, D.C. and, Columbia had kind of a hallelujah
sound."
From October 1963 to November 1964, company planners created a general plan for the city, detailing land uses, densities, development pace, and economics. In November 1964 the Columbia plan was presented to the people and government of Howard County, along with a request for a new kind of zoning which would permit higher residential densities and greater flexibility in mixing land uses. In August 1965, the County adopted a "New Town District" zoning ordinance and
granted zoning for Columbia's development.
Months later, in January 1966, construction began on Columbia's first village-Wilde Lake. The first residents moved to Columbia in 1967. When Columbia is completed, there will be approximately 100,000 people living in a series of villages around the city's downtown.
Columbia, a bold hope at ground-breaking in 1966, is now a city giving shape and meaning to its original goals--physical, social and economic. Columbia residents have reacted to the new environment with initiative and vitality, bringing in a broad and continually expanding list of education, recreation, entertainment, civic and political activities.
Elkridge
Elkridge, located in the eastern most tip of Howard County, is probably the oldest settlement in
the county. Elk Ridge Landing referred to the shipping docks and concentrations of population along
the Patapsco River (navigable into the 1800's), while Elk Ridge referred to a ridge line stretching
west to Doughoregan Manor and south to Oakland Mills.
Planters brought their tobacco "hogsheads" (large barrels weighing as much as 900 pounds when filled) to the landing to load them aboard large sea vessels bound for England. The farmer would pack his crop into the hogshead and roll them with the help of mules or oxen to the wharves at the landing.
Second in importance to tobacco at Elk Ridge was the iron industry. When Captain John Smith first ventured up the Chesapeake Bay and the Patapsco River in 1608, he noted the red clay in the hills along the river. The colonial province's assembly passed an act in 1719 to encourage iron manufacturing.
Caleb Dorsey began to mine ore along the Patapsco and was owner of Elk Ridge Furnace established in 1750. He helped establish the port of Elk Ridge to ship his products to England.
With this, Elk Ridge Landing became second only to Annapolis among Anne Arundel County seaports in the mid-1700's.
The iron industry declined by the mid-1800's due to an inconsistency in U.S. tariffs and competition abroad. After the iron works closed, the land along Deep Run spawned a grove of willows, which later provided a resource for another industry. The willow canes were harvested and woven into baskets in the early 1900's.
Construction of the Thomas Viaduct began in Elk Ridge in 1883. When finished, the bridge stretched in a four degree arc from the Baltimore County side of the river 612 feet to the
Howard County bank. Eight elliptical arches measuring approximately 58 ft. supported the 60 ft. high structure. The arches were high enough and wide enough for flood waters to rush through without destroying the bridge. The bridge was completed in two years and named for the first president of the B&O Railroad, Philip Thomas.
The great falls at the viaduct stopped passage of ships beyond this point. As the population grew along the river and its tributaries -distributing soil to farm and build homes and communities- the rivers began to silt. The river's silt combined with the decline of iron and tobacco shipping, finally closed the port. Elk Ridge Landing became simply -Elkridge.
Ellicott City
Ellicott City enjoys a rich and varied history, from its origin as the tiny trade center of "Ellicott's Mills" to the present seat of rapidly urbanizing Howard County.
Three Quaker brothers, John, Andrew and Joseph Ellicott, of Bucks County, Pennsylvania,
chose this picturesque wilderness to establish a flour mill in 1772, four years before the Declaration of Independence was signed.
The brothers helped revolutionize farming in Maryland by persuading farmers to plant wheat instead of tobacco and by introducing fertilizer to revitalize the depleted soil. In 1830, Ellicott's Mills became the first terminus of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad outside Baltimore. The old station, which stands today as a museum, has been designated a National Historic Landmark by the U.S. Department of the Interior.
According to legend, the famous race between Peter Cooper's iron engine, the Tom Thumb, and a horse-drawn carriage took place at Relay on the return trip from Ellicott's Mills in August 1830. The horse won this race, but steam engines steadily improved and the railroad became a vital link in the town's economy.
Closely associated with George Ellicott was Benjamin Banneker, a free Black born in 1731 near the area later called Ellicott's Mills. Banneker assisted Major Andrew Ellicott in the survey of the boundaries for Washington, D.C.. Banneker, a self-educated man of science, published Almanacs from 1792-1797.
By 1861, Ellicott's Mills was a prosperous farming and manufacturing area, and the site of the courthouse, which was built from 1840-1843 when the Howard District of Anne Arundel County was so designated in 1839. Howard County became an official independent jurisdiction in 1851. In 1867, a city charter was secured for Ellicott's Mills and the name was changed to "Ellicott City."
Ellicott City's Charter was surrendered in 1935 and its Main Street has experienced a gradual change in character from a mixed commercial and residential area to an almost entirely commercial area today. The boundaries of the town were reestablished in 1973 and designated a "Historic District" to preserve and encourage restoration of its old structures.
Lisbon
Lisbon was founded in the early 1800's as a farming village and supply depot, and served as a way
station for stagecoach and wagon travelers journeying on the Old Frederick Turnpike.
Lisbon lies approximately 15 miles west of Ellicott City straddling a road, now Route 144, carved about 1797 by the Ellicott brothers to reach the markets of Frederick, Hagerstown, and later as the "Great Western Turnpike" to Cumberland. Though the Ellicotts erected several log cabins for storage at milepost 15, Caleb Pancoast is credited with founding the town. He built the first house in
Lisbon, probably about 1810. The 27 mile stone turnpike marker from Baltimore still stands just east of town.
Lisbon eventually boasted blacksmith and wheelright shop, a general store and post office as well as a proud tradition for self-sufficiency. It continued to grow in size, not far behind Ellicott's Mills, Elkridge, and Savage.
In its heyday Lisbon was also a resort town. The extension of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in the 1830's provided vacationers a means to escape the city's heat in the cool Howard County countryside. Ellicott City, Sykesville, then Lisbon became popular summer resorts. But rooms for
boarders on nearby farms were limited. A new owner of the Pancoast property built a sizable addition to the little house, and opened Lisbon's first and only resort hotel.
The best taverns catered to stagecoach travelers, merchants and affluent statesmen; the wagoners and poorer migrants stopped at wagon stands and the poorest inn accommodated drovers, complete with hogs, sheep and cattle.
A favorite local story recorded by historian Celia M. Holland recalls the visit of General Lafayette to Lisbon in 1824. When the famous Frenchman passed through the little village on his way to Frederick, a cry went out for "three-cheers," -to hail the Revolutionary War hero. A hard-of-hearing gentleman named Ringgold dashed out with "three chairs in answer to the call, assuring everyone they could have more if needed."
Though sources differ on details, Governor Edwin Warfield of Maryland once taught in a one room school house in or near Lisbon in the 1840's. The Lisbon school was torn down when Route 40 was built, but many structures from the last century, some beautifully restored, still stand in the Lisbon area, including three houses only 13 feet wide built 130 years ago. Nearly every house in Lisbon east of Woodbine Road was built before or during the Civil War. At least three homes which
survived the ravages of time are built of logs.
Savage
A rich vein of American industrial history lies in Savage. When the textile industry was in its heyday,
Savage was an important manufacturing center, its mills harnessing the water power on the
falls of the Little and Middle Patuxent Rivers.
The town was named for John Savage, a Philadelphia merchant with interest in a mill on the falls of the Patuxent. In 1822 he and his associates chartered the Savage Manufacturing Company, which made sails for the tall ships, among other cotton duck products.
The cotton milling industry started in Maryland in the 18th century and flourished in the 19th century. Cotton was shipped cheaply from Southern ports and hauled overland by mule and oxen teams to the mills before rail transportation served Savage. In 1835 the Washington branch of the B&O Railroad was completed, and Savage Station was established on the line about a mile southeast of the present mill. A spur of the B&O was laid to the Savage factory in 1887, and it was at this time that the famous Bollman Truss railroad bridge was moved to its present site from another location. Beloved by railroad buffs, the iron truss bridge is the only one of its type in the world, and, along with the mill, is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Parts of the Savage Mill are said to date from about 1820, and historians have recorded that the mill once had an iron foundry which made many kinds of machinery, specializing in textile manufacturing. The operation of the mill was greatly expanded in 1880 with the installation of steam power.
A recently completed renovation program has established Savage Mill as a major permanent marketplace. With its new role as a festive showcase for quality arts, crafts, antiques, and speciality items, Savage Mill is more than a "shopping mill." It's a leisurely place to explore, enjoy, and to appreciate the history of a quiet mill town on the banks of the Little and Middle Patuxent Rivers.
Carroll Baldwin Hall, a lovely old Richardsonian Romanesque building, though privately owned, houses the Savage branch of the Howard County Library. It was built in the early 1920's as a memorial to Carroll Baldwin, former president of the manufacturing company. The Baldwins managed the company from 1859 to 1911.
West Friendship is located at the 19-mile marker along Frederick turnpike in Howard County. Like
many small communities here, it developed slowly as settlers moved west.
As adventurers set out to survey the area, they established land tracts in the 1700's -many before
the Revolutionary War. Stein's history (1972) lists land grants given to families whose descendants live in the area today. The families of Warfield, Ridgely, Selby, Hobbs, Cross, and Cissel helped create what is now West Friendship.
Settlers came from all walks of life. The G.M. Hopkins Atlas of 1878 recorded residents' names and occupations. The majority were farmers. There were a few farmer-merchants, one farmer-physician, and one farmer-butcher. They grew tobacco, the main crop in Howard County. In the 1780's, the Ellicott brothers persuaded Howard County farmers to grow wheat, an easily marketed crop.
In the 19th Century, the main road through West Friendship was filled with travelers who could find comfort at mile houses along the route. Some came to settle; others, like the circuit rider ministers, rode on horseback from church to church, making it more convenient for residents to attend the nearest service.
Early travel was rough, but most residents were adept at horseback riding. Many traveledover the Frederick turnpike built in the 1790's. Empty land soon gave way to a general store and post office in West Friendship. In the 20th Century, paved roads and the automobile replaced country roads and the horse and buggy. The paving of the West Friendship-Sykesville Road (MD 32) by the State in 1910, was an important development for the community.
West Friendship's one-room school house provided a primary education for many residents in the early 1900's. By 1925, the town's high school replaced all nearby one-room schools, and area residents came by school bus to attend one of the first consolidated schools in Howard County.
Social gatherings continued to center around farming in the 1940's. Before then, the Howard County Grange Competitions were held at Brendel Manor Park and in one resident's front yard. Later in the 1950's, residents set up the groundwork for the present Howard County Fair held annually in West
Friendship.
Today, the town retains its rich history. Farms and historic homes cover the land still inhabited by descendants of the earlier aristocratic families. A shopping center stands where farmland once existed. Yet tradition lives on in this small crossroads community.
but while it has some omissions, it serves as an index to photocopies of the originals published as Maryland Tax List 1783 Baltimore County from the collection of the Maryland Historical Society (Philadelphia: Historic Publications, 1970). The counties of Calvert, Cecil, Harford, and Talbot are covered by Bettie Carothers, comp., 
(Lutherville, Md.: Pub. by compiler, 1977). Furthermore, there is a two part index to the 1783 list at the state archives, one by names of property owners, the other by names of the tracts.
. At the Maryland State Archives is a tax list for St. Anne's Parish, Anne Arundel County, 1764-66. Also here are the surviving 1798 U.S. direct tax records, for Anne Arundel County (indexed), Baltimore County and City, and the counties of Caroline, Charles, Harford, Prince George's, Queen Anne's, Saint Mary's, Somerset, and Talbot. Richard J. Cox edited 
, (Baltimore: Baltimore City Archives and Records Management Office, 1981).
(Westminster, Md.: Family Line Publications, 1987), arranged by county and giving a range of dates of available records for over 2,600 churches with mailing addresses. Also helpful are 
(Baltimore: The Norman, Remington Co., 1923).
(1980; reprint, Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1985). Records of the German churches and the Society of Friends are very good. The latter were early settlers of Maryland, along with Anglicans and Catholics. 
(Annapolis: Hall of Records Commission, 1966) is an excellent guide to the original and microfilmed Friends' records at the Maryland State Archives. Some Quaker records were published in Kenneth Carroll, 
(Baltimore: Maryland Historical Society, 1970) and other records are at the Maryland Historical Society, the state archives, and the Friends Historical Library in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania.
(1908; reprint, Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1967).
The first curved stone-arch bridge in America carried the B&O rail line over the Patapsco River near Elkridge. The Thomas Viaduct, built in 1835, is a 700-foot long structure of eight elliptical arches. Despite the opinions of skeptics, not only did it support the first trains, it has remained in service for more than 150 years. Another significant railroad bridge on the early B&O line is the Bollman Truss Bridge. This wrought and cast-iron, semi-suspension bridge was brought to Savage in 1860 when the B&O Railroad serviced the Mill. One of the last remaining examples of this design, the Bollman Truss Bridge is a National Historic Landmark. It now carries pedestrians across the Little Patuxent River behind Historic Savage Mill.