Historic Wayside Inn c.1780

Historic Wayside Inn c.1780
Built during the American Revolution, this extraordinary historic stone manor home has been beautifully restored & renovated, featuring 7 bedrooms, 7 bathrooms, 2 powder rooms, 10 fireplaces with original mantels, 4 full levels of living space, a spacious modern addition and much more. Steeped in the wonderful history of early America, there is a joy to the Wayside Inn that lives in its 20″ stone walls and echoes through the rooms with the resonating sound from heart pine wood floors. The deep window sills and hand modeled wood trim, the grand center hall and wide staircase, all strike a delicate balance with an expansive modern addition, allowing the fortunate steward to tread gently through 3 centuries of American history without leaving home. This is a unique manor of historic architectural significance, thoughtfully updated for comfort in the 21st century. With 6 generous bedroom suites, 2 kitchens, nearly 2 acres with a pond and a superb location, this is a gracious historic estate of exceptional quality. Though the home was built in 18th century, the heating, air conditioning and core utilities are all modern. This property’s R-20 zoning includes a special exception for a B&B/inn, and the historic property designation offers unique small business opportunities (law office, architect, etc…).

Light and airy, warm and welcoming, the Wayside Inn in historic Ellicott City is a home of rare and beautiful distinction, close to Baltimore & DC, yet a world away.

Historical Significance

The Wayside Inn is historically significant for two reasons. First, it is a particularly fine example of a well preserved, continuously lived in Maryland Farm House whose architectural design is deeply rooted in the Pennsylvania Quaker/German Building tradition. Second, The Wayside Inn is closely associated with a major shift in agriculture in the piedmont region, from the tobacco crop which nurtured the pre-revolutionary economy, to the wheat crop which guaranteed continued growth, when tobacco declined.

In 1772 three Quaker Brothers, John, Joseph and Andrew Ellicott, emigrated to the piedmont region of Maryland from Bucks County, Pennsylvania. They came in search of a place to establish a mill, and selected a site on the Potapsco River. Initially named Ellicott Mills, this area grew and prospered into the town now known as Ellicott City.

Within a few years of their arrival, The Ellicotts had built a large wooden boarding house to house their workers, a saw mill, and using the abundant granite quarried locally in the area now known as Oella, a school and a court house.

The building material of choice for the majority of homes built in the Ellicott City region was the same readily available granite used for the early public buildings. Drawing on their Pennsylvania Quaker roots, the homes constructed closely resemble those found in Lancaster and Bucks County Pennsylvania. The Wayside Inn is indicative of this influence. It is both refined and yet plain. The scale, proportion and symmetry reflected in the design are appropriate to early federal period homes throughout the colonies, yet the choice of dressed stone, and lack of exterior ornamentation for cornices, doorways, etc. reflects the Quaker and also Moravian taste for restraint in ornamentation. The interior likewise is an exercise in minimal detail, the simplest of mantels and plain door and window trim all bespeak a religious belief which shunned superfluous ornament. In contrast to this restraint of detail is the unique Quaker willingness to accept wealth; as reflected in the overall scale of buildings. This is clearly demonstrated in the sheer size of the Wayside Inn. This was not the home of a subsistence tenant farmer. Rather, it was the home, and headquarters for a fairly well to do small scale plantation owner.

Unique architectural features of the Wayside Inn include modified gable roof similar, yet less angular than the New England Saltbox, interior chimneys, and a center hall plan with a very wide enclosed staircase placed at the rear entry.
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Architectural Significance

The Wayside Inn is located on Columbia Road, parallel to the Old Columbia Pike (US Route 29), South of the intersection of St. John’s Lane and Route 29. It is a two room wide, by two room deep, three story central hall stone house with modified gabled roof, and two interior brick chimneys located toward the North and South sides of the roof line. The architectural style of the house is Late Georgian or Early Federal.

The windows are symmetrically arranged on the East (front), North and South sides, and are asymmetrical on the West (rear) side. The windows are proportionately scaled, rectangular shaped, and are double hung consisting of six-over-six lites on the first and second floors, and three-over-three lites on the third floor.

The East (front) entrance has a gable roofed pediment supported by two round wooden columns with a simple wooden fence to the right and left. The portico is likely a later addition to the front entrance way, possibly a circa 1920’s •colonial• addition. The front entrance way has a double door of panel construction with mortise and tenon joinery and applique panel molding, indicating late 19th century construction. A five lite transom and six lite vertical side panels appear above and beside these double doors respectively….

Overall exterior construction is coursed ashlar of locally quarried stone, similar in texture and bond to other stone structures within the immediate Ellicott City environs. The walls are 20″ thick. Window lintels and sills are single rectangular stones. Exterior trim is a plain wood strip, at the cornice and ends.
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Additional Exterior Features

Pond
Detached over-sized 3 car garage
The National Arborist Association Recognition of a White Oak tree dating from before 1787 (signing of the Constitution)

Recent Property Improvements

• Complete new roof (includes new underlayment) 2017
• New soffits and new fascia 2017
• Tear down and complete re-build of largest of two chimneys; Repoint other chimney and re­paint both chimneys 2017
• Installation of new full kitchen in owner’ suite January 2017 (and still unused!). All appliances are brand new as well as all cabinets.
• New vinyl tile (looks like wood flooring) floors on both levels of owner’s suite. January 2017
• New washer and dryer in 2016
• All three heat pumps and one new air handler installed in 2015 and 2016.
• New Oven and Dishwasher in Inn kitchen in 2014.
• New countertops and stovetop (electric 5 burner) in 2008
• Built addition to rear of Inn including Sundeck on second level, Fully conditioned sunporch on main level and terrace bedroom on lower level (with private entrance and private terrace in 2008.
• All furnishing in sunporch and bedroom in 2008.
• Tore out all and replaced with new all landscaping on the front and driveway side of the Inn 2008.
• Every level re-painted approximately every five years. Touch up painting as needed.
• Built first addition of two level owner’s suite with private entrance in 2004.
• Renovated entire second floor adding three new bathrooms and refurnishing all rooms in 2004.

Wayside Inn B&B Promotional Video

Links

Howard County HO-144 – National Register of Historic Places
Ellicott City – Historic Ellicott City Website
Wayside Inn – Bed & Breakfast website
Historic Preservation – Howard County Historic Preservation

Currently operated as a prestigious and nationally recognized Bed & Breakfast/Inn – The Wayside Inn.

Potential Uses

Continue as a B&B/Inn
Elegant Historic Estate
Wide Range of Businesses, close to Baltimore & DC
Group Home