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History · Ellsworth Township

Ellsworth Township dates to 1864, and 35% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listings are the Lloyd, Ira E, Stock Farm. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1894 on, and the census since 1870.

1864founded
3on the National Register
35%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Ellsworth Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Ellsworth Township began

When was Ellsworth Township founded?

1864

Ellsworth Township dates its founding to 1864 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1870.

First census: 448 in 18702020 census: 648162 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1866.The full story ↓

What stands out about Ellsworth Township’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 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18944 editions of the USGS map, 1894 to 1985. Watch Ellsworth Township change.Old housesHalf of Ellsworth Township’s homes were built before 1960.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Ellsworth Township’s collection

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

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

Ellsworth Township on the map, 1894 to 1985

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

Ellsworth Township on the 1894 USGS mapEllsworth Township on the 1957 USGS mapEllsworth Township on the 1979 USGS mapEllsworth Township on the 1985 USGS map1894Ellsworth sheet · 1:125,000

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

The story

How Ellsworth Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Ellsworth Township.

Read it all →

Once called "The Wickedest Cattletown in Kansas", the city is named for Fort Ellsworth, which was built in 1864. Due to speculation on imminent railroad construction, the population of Ellsworth boomed to over two thousand by the time it was incorporated in 1867. It has since been said, "Abilene, the first, Dodge City, the last, but Ellsworth the wickedest".

Ellsworth was a bustling cattle town during the late 1860s, when the Kansas Pacific Railroad had a stop and stockyards there. Cattle were driven up from Texas to this point, and then shipped to major markets. Often cowboys had the run of the town. In 1875 Kansas Pacific closed its cattle pens, moving to another location. The cattle trade dwindled to almost nothing by the mid-1880s.

Chapters19th century21st century

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Ellsworth Township, 1864 to 1903

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1864
    FoundingEllsworth Township is established
  3. 1894On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  4. 20th century
  5. 1903In the archiveThe crowds around President Roosevelt's train at Ellsworth, Kansas
By decade

Ellsworth Township, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s1 item
The crowds around President Roosevelt's train at Ellsworth, Kansas1903The crowds around President Roosevelt's train at Ells…
1910s–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
Today9 recent
20250919-USDA-RD-KS-JRB-0005202520250919-USDA-RD-KS-JRB-000520250919-USDA-RD-KS-JRB-0004202520250919-USDA-RD-KS-JRB-0004Ellsworth County Court House2013Ellsworth County Court HouseEllsworth, Kansas water tower 7-23-20122012Ellsworth, Kansas water tower 7-23-2012Santa Fe Train passing through Ellsworth, Kansas, 1867. (Boston Public Library)2010Santa Fe Train passing through Ellsworth, Kansas, 186…Santa Fe Train passing through Ellsworth, Kansas, 1867. (Boston Public Library) (cropped)2010Santa Fe Train passing through Ellsworth, Kansas, 186…Ellsworth, KS2010Ellsworth, KSDetailed map of2010Detailed map ofMapKSMap-doton-Ellsworth2004KSMap-doton-Ellsworth
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.

The crowds around President Roosevelt's train at Ellsworth, Kansas
Retake this viewThe crowds around President Roosevelt's train at Ellsworth, Kansas, 1903

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

3 historic places in Ellsworth Township

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

places listed
3
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
8
each building in a district counts
first listed
2015
Lloyd, Ira E, Stock Farm
Lloyd, Ira E, Stock Farm
Buildings
All 1 listings
Lloyd, Ira E, Stock FarmBuilding · listed 2015

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

People over time

Ellsworth Township, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,00018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 3,120

Between 448 and 3,120 people in every census since 1870.

16 censuses, 1870–2020.

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Sherman TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townClear Creek TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townAsh Creek TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBlack Wolf TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townKanopolis2 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Ellsworth Township’s history

What year was Ellsworth Township founded?

In 1864, according to Wikidata. Ellsworth Township’s post office opened in 1866, and the census of 1870 counted 448 people here.

What is on the National Register in Ellsworth Township?

3 listings: 1 building, among them the Lloyd, Ira E, Stock Farm (listed 2015, the first). 8 historic buildings in all.

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 (9), the Library of Congress (1), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps and U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.