Historic Ellicott City Jail With Ties To Slavery To Become Community Space

ELLICOTT CITY, MD — The historic Ellicott City jail — with a history linked to enslavement and racial violence — will undergo a makeover to become a center for preservation, education and community engagement.

The jail has stood for more than 170 years and has a complex history as it once held freedom-seekers before the abolition of slavery in Maryland, and was later the site of both documented and narrowly prevented lynchings, according to Preservation Maryland and the University of Maryland, College Park. The jail served Howard County until the early 1980s and has been vacant since 2008.

The statewide nonprofit Preservation Maryland has partnered with the college to tackle the multimillion-dollar adaptive reuse of the jail. As part of the collaboration, UMD’s School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation will play a key role in the project.

“Revitalizing the Ellicott City Jail site is about more than preserving a historic building — it’s about creating a place for community, research, reflection and renewal,” said Nicholas Redding, president and CEO of Preservation Maryland. “The project represents a unique collaboration between state, county, nonprofit and academic partners to breathe new life into one of Ellicott City’s most significant historic landmarks while addressing contemporary challenges.”

The project not only will adapt and reinterpret the jail and property where it sits, but also will create new public and nonprofit spaces, including:

• Collaborative office and research space for UMD faculty and students
• Community meeting and event space
• Historical interpretive exhibits acknowledging the site’s past
• Contemplative green space designed for reflection and resilience
• Headquarters for Preservation Maryland

Under the leadership of UMD Assistant Professor of Historic Preservation Michele Magalong, the college plans to develop a research hub that connects experienced practitioners with students, technology and resources to advance publications and fieldwork.

“This long-awaited project will serve as a catalyst for important preservation research across the region,” said Dawn Jourdan, dean of the UMD School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation. “Preservation Maryland has been a longstanding partner for our program. We look forward to continuing that collaboration in this historically significant space.”

Magalong also hopes to expose students to a variety of skills and techniques—from traditional and ancient preservation methods to AI-aided research and documentation—to build professional skillsets and ensure underrepresented trades aren’t "lost to time."

“I’m excited to work with them to envision the future of preservation and how can we strengthen our workforce— from academics to practitioners on the ground,” Magalong said. “We hope to create a more just pipeline into preservation by amassing a variety of people, skills and knowledge.”

Howard County Executive Calvin Ball said the Ellicott City Jail is an "ideal place where we can preserve and bring forth our county’s past, while breathing new life into a once vacant historic structure and giving it purpose once again."

In addition to the county’s ARPA grant, Preservation Maryland has also secured funding from the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development, state legislative bond bills and other federal and philanthropic sources.

Preservation Maryland anticipates breaking ground on this project in spring 2026. The historic Ellicott City jail is located at 1 Emory Street, Ellicott City.