Ellicott City Clock Rescued by Firefighters, Residents

ELLICOTT CITY, MD — While searching the flood waters for anyone unaccounted for, firefighters came across a missing item: the iconic clock from Ellicott City's Main Street.

They waited to recover it until initial searches for missing persons were complete, then assembled a team to get the clock, which had drifted under the Main Street bridge near the Baltimore County line.

"That was our last mission yesterday: save the clock," Assistant Chief Gordon Wallace told Patch on Wednesday. He said it took 90 minutes to two hours for firefighters to hoist it, using a trolley system, back to Main Street and Maryland Avenue. "Honestly, I thought it would be in more pieces," he said.

The clock was back in its place outside the B&O Railroad Museum Wednesday morning.

A concrete marker at the base says "8-3-16," the date the clock was returned to its spot, providing one familiar landmark in a town where floodwaters damaged dozens of buildings and killed two people over the weekend.

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"...this is a symbol of Ellicott City," County Executive Allan Kittleman told members of the media gathered around the clock at the base of Main Street. "It's here to make people know that Ellicott City is not going away; we're here to stay."

According to county officials, two residents—Bobby Barker and Steve Martin— found pieces of the clock face separately and returned them to the county.

When it was put back together, the clock's hands were placed on 9:20, which Kittleman said pointed to when the flash flood hit.

"That's the time that things happened," Kittleman said. Whether to change the time is "something the residents of Ellicott City will decide," he added.

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The residents of Ellicott City may not see the clock immediately, as Main Street was closed to the public for safety reasons. Two buildings were at risk of collapse Wednesday afternoon, county officials said. As a result, Main Street was restricted to emergency vehicles only.

Eight buildings have been deemed unsafe and dozens more were damaged after approximately 6.5 inches of rain fell Saturday evening, when there were more than 150 water rescues and Main Street was evacuated.

The Howard County Police Department received four times the normal call volume between 7 p.m. Saturday and 1 a.m. Sunday during the flood, in which two people died.

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Given the circumstances, the county executive said the clock was put back in its place as a beacon of hope.

"It's not permanent," Kittleman said in a statement, "but it will serve as a symbol of rebuilding as we continue to work on recovery plans."

Photo Credit: Elizabeth Janney.