Ellsworth dates to 1864, and 34% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 85% of U.S. towns · #4 of 151 in Kansas. What drives it
4 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 52 buildings. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1888 on, and the census since 1870.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1867.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Ellsworth’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Ellsworth is more historic than 85% of U.S. towns, #4 of 151 in Kansas. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Ellsworth’s overall grade.
Kansas towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Kansas town has 5.1 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Ellsworth’s 177 sits above most of its state (98% of Kansas towns have fewer) while its 55 historic buildings outnumber those of 86% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B+ to A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.3 points). Two sources give 1864.
Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Ellsworth’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
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.
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.
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Ellsworth’s history
What year was Ellsworth founded?
In 1864, according to Wikidata. Ellsworth’s post office opened in 1867, and the census of 1870 counted 448 people here.
How does Ellsworth rank for history?
Ellsworth is more historic than 85% of U.S. towns, #4 of 151 in Kansas. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
What is on the National Register in Ellsworth?
4 listings: 3 buildings, among them the Perry Hodgden House (listed 1973, the first), and 1 historic district, the Ellsworth Downtown Historic District, with 52 contributing buildings. 55 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Ellsworth?
34% of Ellsworth’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.3 points), against a typical 10% for a Kansas town; the median home was built in 1960.
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).
From Wikimedia Commons (9), the Library of Congress (1), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (4), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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