The Road to Prosperity

The Road to Prosperity. Ellicott's Mills. Ellicott City’s Main Street, with its businesses, shops and dining establishments, reflects four centuries of prosperity built through hard work, innovation and the connection to economic opportunity. In 1771, the Patapsco River Valley was a “wild place” when it was settled by the Ellicott family. Brothers Andrew, Joseph and John chose the valley because it offered the balance of two things needed for a successful milling operation – water power and land fertile enough to grow wheat. As the milling business grew, the Ellicotts initiated their expansion through the building of a road west to Doughoregan Manor, home of Declaration of Independence signer, Charles Carroll, their partner in the wheat growing end of the business. In 1790, Jonathan Ellicott, son of Andrew, oversaw the extension of the road to Frederick, when it became the Frederick Turnpike. To move goods eastward, the Ellicotts funded and constructed a road to Baltimore’s waterfront where they built a wharf on the property they owned. The successful completion of the system of roads from Frederick to Baltimore was instrumental in the 1806 Congressional decision to build the first federally-funded road west from Cumberland, Maryland with the purpose of connecting an east coast seaport to the Mississippi River.