Elkridge Furnace Complex (Elkridge Furnace Inn)

From 1744 to the 1860s, the Elkridge Furnace operated as a thriving ironworks producing pig iron, which is primarily used to make steel. It is a complex of historic buildings and now operates as restaurant and and event venue called the Elkridge Furnace Inn. The main building consists of the former owner's house, built around 1835, and the workers' dormitory and hotel erected in the second quarter of the 19th century. Across the street is the former manager's house, which was also built around 1835. To the south on Race Road is a brick building constructed in the mid-1800s that probably housed workers. The complex was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1990.

Elkridge Furnace was established in 1744 by Caleb Dorsey on land that was part of a property called "Walker's Inheritance." The furnace was rebuilt in 1768 by the next owner and again in the early 1820s by the then owners, Andrew and John Ellicott. The Ellicott brothers made it bigger to increase capacity, which allowed them to produce 16,000 tons of pig iron in 1826. The furnace remained in the family until 1854. Most the of the buildings on the property were likely built by the Ellicotts. The next owner sold the property to the Great Falls Iron Company in 1858. Robert Brown acquired it in 1887 and sold it to Joseph Toomey in 1904. Irwin Lowe bought the property in 1971 and sold it to the state in the 1980s.

The owners of the Elkridge Furnace Inn, Dan and Donna Wecker, bought the property in 1989 with the intent to establish a restaurant and catering business. They began catering in 1992 and the restaurant opened in 1994.

Kurtze, Peter E. "Elkridge Furnace Complex." National Park Service - National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form. June 28, 1990. https://mht.maryland.gov/secure/medusa/PDF/NR_PDFs/NR-1055.pdf.

"Our Story." Elkridge Furnace Inn. Accessed April 26, 2023. https://www.elkridgefurnaceinn.com/about-1.