The Ellicott City Colored School was the first school built for colored students with public funds in Howard County, Maryland. On June 3,1879 the Secretary of the Board of Education
was ordered to select and purchase a site for a colored school to be located in or near Ellicott
City in the 2nd District. The following chronology of significant. events have been recorded
by the Board of Education.

September 2, 1879 , the Colored School Fund was to be used for the purpose of building those
of the 2nd District a new school house.

In March 1880, John G. Rogers and his wife Rebecca T. Rogers sold the Board of School
Commissioners (Board of Education) "...that piece of parcel of land situated in Howard County,
near Ellicott City and near the Frederick turnpike Road in fee simple for $2,OOO containing
11,272 square feet of land..." and the school was built later in the year.

In 1895, the first Black trustees, to oversee the schools replacing the white trustees,
appointed by the County.

In December 1925, the Superintendent reported that the Colored people of Ellicott City
were endeavoring to build a bridge over the stream at the Colored School and had $50
toward the same. He suggested that the board allow the colored people at least $25
towards the erection of the bridge, if said amount was necessary.

On February 7, 1933 , the Parent Teacher Association of the Colored School of Ellicott City
applied for permission to wire their building and asked the Board to help them pay for it.
The Board informed them that, "they could not establish the precedent of wiring
the buildings and installation of meters in small schools of the County and therefore it was
impossible to aid them in that respect..."

On November 4, 1936 , the Superintendent informed the Board that he was having a
difficult time in securing the privilege of obtaining drinking water for the Ellicott City
Negro School. The Board authorized the expense, a reasonable sum of money, to repair the
bridge and a public foot walk crossing the Tiber .

In August 1938, the school was in such bad condition that a delegation of three Negroes
went to the Board and presented a list of improvements which needed to be made.

On November 5, 1942 , Ambrose Cross requested the use of the Ellicott City "gym" for
Negro Boy Scouts. The request was denied, but the use of the Ellicott City Colored School
was approved.

In 1945, the Board received a report from the Deputy State Health Office pertaining to
contaminated water at the following schools: Ellicott City , Dayton , Colesville, Elkridge
and Meadowridge.

On January 3,1950 , after waiting 14 years, wells were dug and pumps installed at the
following Colored schools: Ellicott City , Dayton , Highland , Meadowridge, Elkridge and
Colesville.

For more than a decade, African American parents complained that the school was unsafe,
poorly lighted, over-crowded and inaccessible. A coal-fired potbellied stove heated the Ellicott
City Colored School until the day it closed in 1953. There was no electricity; the only water
came from an outdoor pump. A path led to twin outhouses.

Because the Board of Education refused to pay for heating fuel, parents and older students
took turns firing up the stove early in the morning before classes began. There were no janitors;
therefore, older students kept the stove stoked with coal and wood during the day.

One teacher recalled preparing lunch for students on the potbellied stove. Vegetables donated
by Ellicott City residents were sauteed in pots of water on the top of the stove and complimented
the lunches brought from home.

In 1989, The Central Maryland Chapter of the Afro-American Historical and Genealogical
Society (AAHGS) launched a project to record African American cemeteries in the area. Beulah
"Meach" Buckner lead the project and stumbled onto the dilapidated building which was identified
as the Ellicott City Colored School . She began campaigning for its restoration. In order to raise
funds, she spearheaded crab feasts, bazaars, yard sales, golf tournaments, and the sale of brick
pavers to raise money. She lobbied the State Legislature for funds and when they offered a matching
grant, she began to lobby the County government for the match. Senator Christopher McCabe,
County Executive Charles Ecker, Delegates Elizabeth Bobo and Frank Turner were reassuring
that the money would be forthcoming.

The Central Maryland Chapter, AAHGS and the Ellicott City Colored School Restoration
Project have been working tirelessly to raise the needed funding to cover furnishings and
equipment and to open the facility as a living history museum, genealogical resource center,
and monument to those who attended and taught at the school. Restoration milestones include: