Thomas Isaac Log Cabin Reopens In Historic Ellicott City

ELLICOTT CITY, MD — On Friday, Howard County Executive Calvin Ball and department of recreation and parks director Raul Delerme gathered in Historic Ellicott City for a ribbon cutting ceremony to officially reopen the Thomas Isaac Log Cabin and celebrate recent renovations to the Baltimore & Ohio Ellicott City Station Museum.

“The deep history that surrounds our beloved Ellicott City is part of what makes it so special,” Ball said. “Walking down Main Street provides the experience of walking through our history – the early stages of settlement at the Thomas Isaac Log Cabin and the height of industrialization at the Baltimore & Ohio Ellicott City Station Museum. Both sites serve as landmarks for residents and visitors alike as the enter our historic community, and these renovations have been completed just in time to help us celebrate Ellicott City’s upcoming 250th anniversary.”

Constructed around 1780 on nearby Merryman Street, the Thomas Isaac Log Cabin commemorates the early stages of European development in the Patapsco River Valley. In the 1870s, it served as an important resource for Ellicott City’s African American community. In the 1980s, the cabin was dismantled and rebuilt on the historic Barnard Fort House property where it stood until the summer of 2018.

Following the 2018 flood, the cabin was temporarily moved to Parking Lot F while Ellicott Mills Drive was reconstructed. This past spring, the cabin moved back to its previous location atop a new foundation. The proposed drainage improvements in Ellicott City as part of Ball’s EC Safe and Sound plan and the new foundation sitting one foot above Ellicott City’s 100-year flood elevation should keep the cabin safe from future floods.

With its reopening, the cabin will once again house the same programs and artifacts it did prior to the 2018 flood, including interpretive exhibits and programs about the history of Ellicott City. Funding to restore the cabin was provided thanks to a nearly $250,000 grant from the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development. Of that funding, approximately $35,000 was spent to move the cabin. The funding also allowed for the installation of electrical and HVAC systems by the county’s department of public works’ bureau of facilities. In addition, Howard High School junior Matt Jamerson led an Eagle Scout project in coordination with the recreation and parks’ horticulture and land management, to plant flowers and lay new mulch around the cabin.

“It is with great joy we see the return of the Thomas Isaac Log Cabin. Like our OEC community, we have watched this historical treasure overcome significant obstacles in the last few years, and it’s good to see the building returned home,” said Angie Tersiguel, Ellicott City Partnership president. “With our 250th anniversary on the horizon, it’s exciting to see our history take main stage.”

Built in 1831, the Baltimore & Ohio Ellicott City Station once operated inside the oldest surviving railroad station in America. Initially a freight depot, the station was remodeled in 1857 to accommodate passengers and was later designated as a museum in 1972 after it ceased operations. In 2017, recreation and parks’ took over management and operations of the Baltimore & Ohio Ellicott City Station Museum and in 2018, received two grants from the Maryland Heritage Areas Authority. Totaling more than $80,000, the grants allowed for the restoration of the museum’s iconic C-2149 caboose and Freight Room diorama.

The C-2149 caboose was restored using historically accurate materials and interpretive signage, while the restoration of the Freight House diorama involved a comprehensive update showing the first 13 miles of railroad in the United States. An augmented reality component (not part of the grants) was also added to the diorama to give visitors more information about neighboring train stations and other points of interest, such as mills and historic buildings. Both restoration projects were overseen by Recreation & Parks’ Natural and Historic Resources Division’s Living History and Heritage Program.