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History · Ellendale

Ellendale dates to 1866, and 13% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Teddy's Tavern. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1918 on, and the census since 1910.

1866founded
1on the National Register
13%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Ellendale’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Ellendale began

When was Ellendale founded?

1866

Ellendale dates its founding to 1866 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1910.

First census: 216 in 19102020 census: 487160 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1867.The full story ↓

What stands out about Ellendale’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 3 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19186 editions of the USGS map, 1918 to 1992. Watch Ellendale change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Ellendale’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Ellendale’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
3 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewEllendalemap1906: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Ellendale on the map, 1918 to 1992

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Ellendale. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Ellendale on the 1918 USGS mapEllendale on the 1938 USGS mapEllendale on the 1944 USGS mapEllendale on the 1954 USGS mapEllendale on the 1981 USGS mapEllendale on the 1992 USGS map1918Cedar Creek sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Ellendale.

The story

How Ellendale came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Ellendale.

Read it all →

Ellendale started as a forest and swamp on the divide between the Chesapeake Bay and Delaware Bay. The swamp was the hunting grounds of the Nanticoke tribe until they were driven out by the Lenape tribe in the Battle Green near Chestnut Ridge, a hill on Ellendale's north side. The Lenape Trace, a main thoroughfare of a trail, passed through Ellendale as a Native American trade route from Pocomoke City, Maryland to Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania. With the arrival of Europeans, the Ellendale area was a province of fur traders and hunters. Early in the 18th century, farming and timbering pushed back the swamp that once covered the area. The tract of land on which the town would later be built was originally deeded in 1740 as "Bennett's Pleasure".

ChaptersEarly historyBlack Camp Insurrection19th century20th century to present

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Ellendale, 1866 to 1940

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1866
    FoundingEllendale is established
  3. 1867Post officeThe Ellendale post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1906In the archiveEllendalemap1906
  6. 1918In the archiveDuPont Highway road construction at Ellendale, Delaware, 1918 using a narrow gauge 20hp 0…
  7. 1918On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 1940In the archiveConnecticut -New Haven County - -Windham County- -- Delaware -entire state- -- District o…
By decade

Ellendale, decade by decade

3 decades in the archive, from the 1900s to the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s–1940s3 items
Ellendalemap19061906Ellendalemap1906DuPont Highway road construction at Ellendale, Delaware, 1918 using a narrow gauge 20hp 0-4-0 well tank loco built by O…1918DuPont Highway road construction at Ellendale, Delawa…Connecticut -New Haven County - -Windham County- -- Delaware -entire state- -- District of Columbia -- Florida -Alachua…1940Connecticut -New Haven County - -Windham County- -- D…
1950s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today7 recent
Ellendale DE town hall and police station2022Ellendale DE town hall and police stationEllendale War Memorial2013Ellendale War MemorialEllendale War Memorial plaque2013Ellendale War Memorial plaqueEllendale War Memorial cannon2013Ellendale War Memorial cannonEllendale Town Square2013Ellendale Town SquareEllendale Town Hall & Police Station2013Ellendale Town Hall & Police StationEllendale Fire Company2013Ellendale Fire Company
Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Ellendalemap1906
Retake this viewEllendalemap1906, 1906

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Ellendale’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Ellendale

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1991
Teddy's Tavern
Teddy's Tavern
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Mission-Spanish Colonial Revival1
Teddy's TavernMission-Spanish Colonial Revival

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Ellendale, census by census

0100200300400500192019401960198020002020487

Grew from 216 people in 1910 to 487 in 2020.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Ellendale’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

Famous people close to Ellendale

Nobody well known was born in Ellendale itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Bryan StevensonAmerican lawyer, social reformer and academic · b. 1959
Ruth Ann MinnerAmerican politician and businesswoman · b. 1935
Joseph M. CareyAmerican politician · b. 1845
Madeline HurlockAmerican actress · b. 1897
W
Warren K. LewisAmerican chemical engineer · b. 1882
Mark BriscoeAmerican professional wrestler · b. 1985

Questions about Ellendale’s history

What year was Ellendale founded?

In 1866, according to Wikidata. Ellendale’s post office opened in 1867, and the census of 1910 counted 216 people here.

What is on the National Register in Ellendale?

One place: the Teddy's Tavern (listed 1991).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (10), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.