The United States’ long road to equal rights for all people is represented poetically in the Ellicot City Colored School, a hallmark of American history. The Ellicot City Colored School was a one-room schoolhouse that educated African Americans in Ellicot City until 1953. It was closed after the historic Brown vs. Board of Education supreme court case ruled in favor of the integration of public schools.
Though the school fell into disrepair after its closing, it was later restored by the Central Maryland Chapter of the Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society. Today, the building stands as a museum, which was dedicated in 2002, that is filled with artifacts and furniture that would most accurately represent an early 1900s rural classroom.
The museum’s exhibits teach the history of Howel County’s segregated schools as well as the history of the local African American community.
8683 Frederick Road, Elliot City, Maryland 21043, Phone: 410-313-1428, Map