What’s Happening

With pride in the past and a belief in the future let the festivities begin!

EC250 Inc., is pleased to partner with participants countywide, to commemorate the 250^th anniversary of historic Ellicott City, Maryland with the following special celebratory activities and events. Our plans include an assortment of fun, entertaining, and educational activities both in the town and at nearby venues. Through historical exhibits and interpretive reenactments, educational curriculum and lectures, special contests, and cultural activities, we are bringing the stories of the town older than the United States itself to life! Visitors will experience anew the town built by the Ellicotts “in the hollow” along the Patapsco River.

*Events subject to change.

WINTER

EC250 Anniversary Year Kickoff

JANUARY 22, 2022: The EC250 anniversary year kicks off as George Ellicott and friends welcome all to join the Ellicott City’s Sestercentennial Launch at the Howard County Welcome Center that includes the opening of a new “Milltown to City” exhibit. Wiley Purkey’s “Brush With History” will open at The Fund for Art in Ellicott City’s Gallery featuring 50 paintings of the town by the long-time Ellicott City artist. Infused with his own experiences and memories, Purkey’s colorful oil paintings bring the town to life and take viewers on a nostalgic trip through its streets.

FEBRUARY 20, 2022: The new Ellicott Family Legacy Exhibit opens at the Museum of Howard County History to offer visitors a look into the lives of the founding families through the lens of its artifact collection. A special opening reception will be held on February 19 featuring the premiere of Patapsco Heritage Greenway’s new documentary “Pioneering Along the Patapsco.” Produced by Maryland Public Television, the video explores the ingenuity and innovations that contributed to the story of Ellicott City over the years.

A student essay contest sponsored by Historic Ellicott City Inc. encourages students at all levels to reflect and interpret Ellicott City’s place in history in their own words.

MARCH 13, 2022: As Saint Patrick’s Day approaches, EC250 brings the Irish Railroad Workers Museum to town to pay homage to the workers who literally laid the groundwork for the nation’s earliest transportation networks.

SPRING

History comes Alive!

“EC History Comes Alive” when historic interpreters and re-enactors visit Ellicott City on select weekends throughout the year.

APRIL 1 – 30, 2022: Howard County Poetry and Literature Society (HoCoPoLitSo)“See Through Poems” will showcase a collection of poems that speak to the town’s history, commerce, and people. Twenty-five different poems will be on display in Main Street’s windows.

APRIL 9, 2022: The first in a three-part series of commemorative EC250 cans from Manor Hill Brewing debuts featuring their signature IPA. EC250 weekends at Manor Hill Farm mark the occasion of each release with “EC History Comes Alive” reenactors and special activities onsite.

APRIL 22, 2022: Howard County Historical Society hosts the Grand Opening of Ellicott’s Quaker School Children’s Museum adjacent to the Museum of Howard County History. The new children’s activity booklet, “A Journey Thru 250 Years of Ellicott Mills History” hits the street to encourage young and old alike to explore and learn more about the town’s history.

April 23: George Ellicott and his daughter Martha will be on hand when StoneBridge Advisors, LLC host an Open House of the George Ellicott House

Descendants of the Miami Nation visit town to discuss their renown leader Mihšihkinaahkwa’s (Chief Little Turtle’s) relationship with the Ellicotts and the tribe’s connection to the town and local Quaker groups.

The first of four “For the Record” Digital Days provides the community an opportunity to add personal family photos and stories relative to Ellicott City to the official historical record of the town.

SUMMER

EC in Full Bloom

JUNE 4, 2022: The new interpretive feature “Mary Jerdone Coleman’s Garden at Patapsco Female Institute” opens with a ribbon cutting and celebration hosted by Howard County Recreation & Parks and the Howard County Garden Club. Based on flower pressings from former student Mary Jerdone Coleman’s journal, the new feature highlights the teachings of renowned botanist Almira Hart Lincoln Phelps, the institute’s principal.

JUNE 9 – 12, 2022 : PAINT It! Ellicott City plein air weekend. Opening reception Monday, June 13 at the Howard County Center for the Arts

JUNE 25, 2022: Manor Hill Brewing hosts EC250 weekend at Manor Hill Farm to mark the occasion of the release of their second EC250 commemorative can. “EC History Comes Alive” with reenactors and special activities onsite.

JULY 16 & 17, 2022 : Ellicott City’s Fells Lane Community Reunites to recall and memorialize personal experiences in the town’s black neighborhood. Demolished in the 1970s, the community was purported to be home to many descendants of enslaved people from nearby farms, including the 7,000 acre Doughoregan Manor plantation owned by Charles Carroll of Carrollton, signer of the Declaration of Independence. This event is made possible through a generous contribution from Slack Funeral Home.

AUGUST 19, 2022: ART-i-facts gallery show opens at Howard County Center for the Arts to feature the creative exploration and interpretation by artists of various Ellicott family artifacts from the Howard County Historical Society.

FALL

Wrapping Up

SEPTEMBER 10, 2022: Manor Hill Brewing releases the third in its EC250 Commemorative Can series at Manor Hill Farm’s EC250 Weekend

SEPTEMBER 15, 2022: Wiley Purkey’s “Brush With History” re-opens at Columbia Art Center with 50 works by the long-time Ellicott City artist. Infused with his own experiences and memories, Purkey’s colorful oil paintings bring the town to life and take viewers on a nostalgic trip through its streets.

OCTOBER 8, 2022: The community will gather to place a Commemorative EC250 Time Capsule at the town’s historic Main Street Log Cabin as a legacy for future generations to uncover. Descendants of the Miami Nation return to town to discuss their renowned leader Mihšihkinaahkwa’s (Chief Little Turtle’s) relationship with the Ellicotts and the tribe’s connection to the town and local Quaker groups.

OCTOBER 15, 2022: The Babe Ruth Museum comes to town just in time for the 2022 World Series to celebrate the Babe’s wedding anniversary at the church where it happened!

DECEMBER 8, 2022: “On National Road,” an original musical, written and produced locally, takes the audience on a trip through time that features songs about historic milestones during the last 250 years in Ellicott City and Howard County opens at Howard Community College’s Horowitz Visual and Performing Arts Center.

DECEMBER 11, 2022: Howard County Historical Society’s Holiday House Tour in historic Ellicott City.

In addition, the landmark EC250 anniversary theme will be featured as part of annual events including:

Patapsco Heritage Greenway’s “Patapsco Days” presentation series
Ellicott City Partnership’s in town seasonal festivals
Howard County Arts Council’s PAINT IT! Plein Air Weekend
Howard County Historical Society’s Holiday House Tour in Historic Ellicott City
PLUS MUCH MORE still in the works!

Does your organization want to hold an EC250 event?

It’s been 50 years since the last significant anniversary of the town’s founding — in 1972 we celebrated Ellicott City’s Bicentennial. Does your school, business, community or nonprofit have an event to contribute to Ellicott City’s 250th anniversary? Please submit events below.

What is the proper name for a 250th anniversary?

___ Sestercentennial

___ Semiquincentennial

___ Bicenquinquagenary

(It’s actually ALL of the above.)

Sestercentennial – To express 2½ in Latin it would be expressed as “half-three”. The term relates to being halfway [from the second] to the third integer. In Latin this is “Sestertius” which is a contraction of semis (halfway) tertius (third)—hence Sestercentennial.

Semiquincentennial – Probably a modern coined term: semi- (half) × quin (5) × centennial (100 years) = 250 years. Used by Brown University in 2015.

Bicenquinquagenary – Used by Princeton University in 1996, Reading, Pennsylvania in 1998, and Washington and Lee University in 1999. It is a coined word for an anniversary of 250 years: bi- (2) × cen(t)- (100) + quinquagenary (50 years).