John Ellicott

Who was John Ellicott?

John Ellicott was one of three Quaker brothers from Bucks County, Pennsylvania who chose the picturesque wilderness up river from Elk Ridge Landing to establish a flour mill. John and Andrew Ellicott moved to Baltimore County, Maryland in May 1771 purchasing 50 acres of Baltimore County land from Emanuel Teal and 35 acres from William Williams. John, Andrew, and Joseph Ellicott founded Ellicott's Mills which became one of the largest milling and manufacturing towns in the East.

The Ellicott brothers helped revolutionize farming in the area by persuading farmers to plant wheat instead of tobacco and also by introducing fertilizer to revitalize depleted soil. Charles Carroll, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, was an early influential convert from tobacco to wheat.

John Ellicott was the uncle of surveyors Andrew Ellicott and Joseph Ellicott.