While cars were swept away by water and sidewalks around town were torn up by both floods, the city’s small businesses scene took a big hit in both storms.īefore the 2016 flood, Ellicott City’s Main Street housed 141 businesses that contributed $124.2 million in business activity to Howard County, Maryland, and employed 955 workers, many of who live above the businesses they work in, according to a report by the University of Baltimore’s Jacob France Institute.Ībout a quarter of the businesses left by the end of 2018 after the second flood, according to Ellicott City Partnership, the organization responsible for preserving the heritage and vitality of historic Ellicott City. Dave Carney stands with inventory at The Wine Bin, the wine and liquor store he’s owned in Ellicott City, Md. Less than two years later, eight inches of rain fell in the town in another two-hour span, once again causing the rivers to rise and overflow. The Patapsco River and its tributary, the Tiber River, which runs under several businesses in town, rose past capacity after six inches of rain fell in just two hours. In 20, Ellicott City experienced two 1,000-year storms. Over two centuries later, the mills have left, but the water’s power hasn’t. Given the steep terrain and abundant water sources, the area made for an ideal location to harvest the water’s power to grind flour and wheat. Established as a mill town in 1772, Ellicott City sits in one of the lowest parts of Howard County, Maryland. “I think the town is closed,” he recalls her telling him.īut like many other business owners in town, Carney persevered and reopened his store, only to be flooded again less than two years later.įlooding is part of the town’s history. “Sam, my staff person, came down and called me and said, ‘I think you’re out of business,’” Carney recalled. The next morning, Carney heard something no business owner wants to hear. “It was like watching a movie that is not there.” I’m watching cars float away,” he said.Īttempting to escape the flood waters, Carney held on to the cherry tree as the flood that would claim two lives and wipe out the city’s historic downtown cascaded around him. “There are logs floating by, I’m literally watching the dumpster in the parking lot. Sitting in the tree, Carney recalled an unimaginable scene unfolding below him. Housed in historic Ellicott City’s original firehouse, The Wine Bin offers a variety of wine, spirits and beer options. It was July 30, 2016, and Dave Carney found himself climbing to the top of a cherry tree outside The Wine Bin, the wine and liquor store he owns in historic downtown Ellicott City, Maryland. These were the first things Dave Carney said when he called his wife during the 2016 Ellicott City flood:
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