Thomas Viaduct in Elkridge

Maryland Historical Society

When Elk Ridge (now Elkridge, pop 2000 22,042) was established in the eighteenth century, it lay in what was known as upper Anne Arundel County. Not until 1851 did this area become a separate county jurisdiction, Howard County. Its county name honors Maryland governor and Revolutionary War general John Eager Howard (1752-1827).

Early History
In the late 1600s, colonists moved slowly inland from the Chesapeake Bay. Settlers patented land, or identified and surveyed it, then claimed it with warrants from Lord Baltimore’s land agent. Ships sailed up the Patapsco River anchoring below The Great Falls; a port soon developed there. Elk roamed the hills above the valley and the area became known as the Ridge of Elk, or Elk Ridge.

The location where the ships loaded and unloaded their cargo became known as
Elk Ridge Landing. The landing (port) existed for about 100 years. Originally, the colonists shipped tobacco from their farms through the landing to England. The planter packed the dried tobacco leaves into large wooden barrels (called hogsheads) and rolled them to the landing. These routes were called “rolling roads.”

By the mid-eighteenth century an iron furnace at the Landing was producing raw iron for export. Caleb Dorsey Jr. built and operated the furnace. Dorsey received a large land grant called “Moores’ Morning Choice” from his father as a wedding gift. On this property he built his family home. Later generations called the property “Belmont” and it remained in the Dorsey family until the mid-twentieth Century. The early eighteenth century home was restored and now serves as a conference center.

Later History and Land Owners
In 1733, the Maryland General Assembly authorized a town named Jansen Town to be established at the Landing. There were to be 40 lots on a tract of 30 acres. Although Jansen Town never happened, the Hammonds, a prominent land-owning family, divided Elk Ridge Landing into 50 lots in the 1750s. The largest land owners were Patrick Macgill, Joshua Griffith, John and Joshua Dorsey, Philip Hammond, and Charles Carroll. Although Elkridge ceased to serve as a port after the Revolutionary War, it has continued to exist through the centuries.

Because Elkridge was a very early settlement, it was the name used to refer to most of early upper Anne Arundel County. Charles Carroll referred to his place, Doughoregan Manor, as being at Elkridge. Today Doughoregan is located at Ellicott City. By the early 1800s, other communities were developing and carried their own names, such as Ellicott’s Mills, Owings Mills, and Poplar Springs.

In the 1820s, Judge George Dobbin, a Baltimore attorney, bought a parcel of land west of Baltimore. For health reasons, he enlarged his property holdings at Elkridge. Soon other lawyer friends bought land in the vicinity. Naturally the people at the Landing referred to the newcomers as living on “Lawyers Hill.” The area retains the name today.

Industry and the Civil War
In the earliest days, the Landing lay near the Patapsco River and the lots sat near the iron furnace. When the turnpike was built in the early 1800s, the center of the village moved. Buildings sprang up along the turnpike, Main Street, and shops filled the new buildings. The coming of the railroad was important for this community by providing employment during the construction and operation of the railroad. The Thomas Viaduct was built to carry the B&O Railroad to Washington, D.C.

The Civil War brought mixed loyalties to the residents of Lawyers Hill. Some supported the North, others, the South. The community spirit was strong and the families protected each other’s possessions whenever they could. After the War the families began to socialize again and to rebuild their friendships. The Assembly room, a frame structure standing on Lawyers Hill Road, was built to provide a place for families to come together. It was used for plays and dances.

In the early twentieth century, the main road was relocated and named Route 1. Many businesses relocated to the new road, leaving the old Main Street to become residential. The Old Baltimore-Washington Rd. parallels Route 1 and has retained much of the character of earlier times. Old schools recall the early twentieth century education that was important to Elkridge children St. Augustine’s Roman Catholic Church is on this old road; Grace Episcopal is in the same area. The Melville Methodist structure is on Furnace Avenue but was located elsewhere when it was first built. Another old church is Trinity Episcopal on Route 1, which was formerly a chapel of ease. Trinity was associated with a church now called “Old Brick,” built in the 1700s and preserved on the grounds of Christ Episcopal Church on Oakland Mills Road.

A Close-knit Community
Elkridge has always been a close-knit community, many families having lived in the area for generations. There are new people, new homes, new roads, and new ideas. It has suffered with the many highways that crisscross the neighborhoods. I-95 brings the roar of the motor vehicle and Baltimore/Washington International (BWI) Thurgood Marshal Airport sends its air traffic overhead. There is a new library for the community and Elkridge’s first shopping center stands along Montgomery Road (a section of Route 1). Elkridge is growing, but new residents are learning the proud history of this very old community.

Cramm, Joetta Howard County: A Pictorial History. Norfolk: The Donning Company Publishers, 1987.

Dempster, J.E. Vertical file, Enoch Pratt Library, n.d. Martenet’s map. 1860. (Author’s collection)

Singewald, Joseph. Report on the Iron Ores of Maryland, Maryland Geological Survey. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press, 1909.