What began as a humble milling town became Ellicott City, part of the Baltimore metropolitan area and an important piece of Maryland history. In 1772, the Ellicott brothers purchased land and water rights in the valley along the banks of the Patapsco River for $3 an acre. They constructed mills, started the National Road, and brought the railroad to what was then called Ellicott's Mills. The newly constructed railroad in the 1830s...