An old friend is back, standing tall on Main Street in Old Ellicott City, and the timing could not be better. The beloved Old Ellicott City Clock is back at its station, keeping watch over the town at the bottom of the hill.
After the fixture’s eight-year absence since being destroyed and washed away in a 2018 flood, Howard County Executive Calvin Ball and Ellicott City Partnership officially unveiled the restored clock on Saturday, April 11. Ball was dressed as Doc Brown from “Back to the Future,” and his trusty sidekick, “Marty McFly,” was by his side.
“The Old Ellicott City Clock has always been more than a way to tell time,” Ball said. “It has been a quiet witness to the life of this community, marking moments of joy, challenge, and renewal. … The Clock’s return is a reminder of something powerful: that what we value as a community, we restore. What we cherish, we preserve. And what defines us, we bring back, stronger than before.”
In 2000, the Kiwanis Club of Ellicott City donated the original Old Ellicott City Clock where it stood on Main Street for 16 years at the bottom of the hill that leads down to the Patapsco River. It was destroyed in what the National Weather Service called an “off-the-charts” thousand-year rainfall event when Old Ellicott City experienced deadly flash flooding in 2016. The clock was replaced and rededicated in 2017, only to be swept away by massive flooding again in 2018.
In 2025, Howard County approved the clock’s return after significant headway has been made on flood mitigation on Lower Main Street, based on the Ellicott City Safe and Sound plan. Four buildings have been removed and replaced by a small public park where a farmer’s market takes place on Saturdays, and other community events take place year-round.
On Oct. 21, 2025, Ball joined Ellicott City Partnership for “Back to the Future Day,” announcing the fundraising campaign to bring back the clock. Since the announcement, the campaign has raised more than $30,000.
“The clock is more than just a piece of equipment,” said Julia Sanger, president of Ellicott City Partnership. “It’s a symbol of what’s possible when a community comes together to bring back something that honors the past and embraces the future.”
“For decades the Old Ellicott City Clock has been more than just a way to tell time,” Ball told the crowd on Saturday. “It has been a constant, steady presence in this town’s history. And since the devastating 2018 flood, its absence has been deeply felt. Today, we correct the timeline, no flux capacitor required.”
