On the eastern corner of Howard County lies the little town of Elkridge, inexorably linked to America's rich history. The Patapsco Indians had a settlement in this area when Captain John Smith of Jamestown sailed up the Patapsco River in 1608. Howard County's first settler, a Puritan named Adam Shippley settled near here on land granted by Lord Baltimore in 1687.

Iron works sprang up and the river provided a great means of transporting goods inland. The Great Falls of the Patapsco River, on the northwest edge of what is today called Elkridge, terminated the navigable route up the river. It was a natural location for the settling 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 furnace were shipped back to England. Elk Ridge Landing became the largest colonial seaport north of Annapolis.

In 1744, a tavern was built just below the Great Falls. Around 1750, Caleb Dorsey constructed an iron smelting furnace just south of the tavern. In 1810, the second generation of Ellicotts bought the iron furnace complex in Elk Ridge Landing to diversify the family business. They built an elegant Federal style brick mansion which they attached to the existing Tavern. The Ellicotts modernized the smelting furnace, survived and repaired the damage from the "Great Flood of 1868" and continued to operate the furnace into the late 1880s.