An iconic town clock that was knocked over and washed away during the floods that destroyed Ellicott City businesses last week has been found — wedged in mud on the Patapsco River — and recovered.
Howard County officials announced on Twitter that Geoff and Mark Haver of Ellicott City recovered the frame and part of the face of the clock.
It is now in storage until community leaders can determine what will be done with it, said Lisa de Hernández, a spokeswoman with the county.
Kelly Secret, who manages the Facebook page for Visit Ellicott City, and friend Pam Long, who owns a photography studio on historic Main Street, earlier Saturday scouted out the location of the beloved clock, which until last week sat outside the B&O Railroad Museum.
The women say finding the clock is a bright spot in what has been a miserable week. The roof of Long’s photography business collapsed from rainwater. Like many businesses she is raising money through a GoFundMe account to help pay the bills until she can reopen.
“We are super excited to have found it,” Secret said. “I hope it gives encouragement and hope to the people of the neighborhood. We could use it.”
“I knew it would turn up at some point; it was just a matter of when.”
The clock is a replacement from the original clock that was swept away in flood water in 2016. Pieces of that clock were eventually found. The face is displayed in a museum, Secret said.
