As a result of the success of our 34th show house, Oakdale (May-June 2022) which we reported on in our fall newsletter, we made a sizable contribution to Ron Peters, owner of the Howard House, to support his restoration of the second floor balcony and iron work. Through Ron’s persistence the Howard House is now completely restored to its original 1850’s grandeur. He doggedly tracked down the matching grill work, employing local welder, Bill Knapp and other contractors to complete the task. He jumped through every bureaucratic hoop ever invented (including making 3,500 copies of required documents) to give this magnificent gift to our city. Historic Ellicott City, Inc. is more than proud to have contributed to Ron’s efforts.
We celebrated this accomplishment on November 30, 2022 when we gathered on the beautifully restored balcony of the Howard House to present our check to Ron Peters, and then walked across Main Street to the Crazy Mason for an ice cream social. Why celebrate this occasion with ice cream? Because the first owners of the Howard House, Mr. and Mrs. Christian Eckert, were known for serving ice cream, a novelty in the 1850’s, in their Howard House restaurant. “Mr. and Mrs. Eckert brought with them not only their knowledge of hotel and restaurant management, but also their typically German recipes for fine food and drinks as well. Oddly enough their specialty was ice cream, a product not yet known in their native land. According to Mrs. John Loughran, a niece of the Eckerts, they supplied all of the ice cream consumed at the annual Clarksville picnic, one of the county’s largest functions. It is said they produced upwards of 2,500 gallons per season.”
Excerpted from Ellicott City, Maryland Mill Town, U.S.A. by Celia Holland 2003 update by Janet P. Kusterer and Charlotte Holland. Published by Historic Ellicott City, Inc. Copyright 2003. Used by permission of Dr. James Holland.
Clipping from the Ellicott City Times used by permission of the Howard County Historical Society.
Circa November 1913
Photo dated May 1911 of the Fighting Ninth Pennsylvania Calvary courtesy of John Kirkwood. Used by permission of the Howard County Historical Society.
