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History · Ellsburg Township

Half of Ellsburg Township’s homes were built after 1973

Most of Ellsburg Township was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1973. Below: maps from 1956 on.

0on the National Register
4%homes built before 1940
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What stands out about Ellsburg 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 writtenNo old photos of Ellsburg Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Ellsburg Township’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story so far

Ellsburg Township, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Ellsburg Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Ellsburg Township is a township in Saint Louis County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 188 at the 2020 census. U.S. Highway 53 serves as a main route in the township. The unincorporated community of Melrude is located within Ellsburg Township. The town was named for a place in Sweden.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 219 to 188 (-14%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Ellsburg Township, 1913 to 1956

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1913Post officeThe Elisburg post office opens
  3. 1927Post officeThe Elisburg post office closes
  4. 1927Post officeThe Melrude post office opens
  5. 1956On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

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On the map

Ellsburg Township on the map, 1956 to 1969

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

Ellsburg Township on the 1956 USGS mapEllsburg Township on the 1969 USGS map1956Cotton sheet · 1:24,000

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Ellsburg Township

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

See all →
Daniel BerriganAmerican Catholic priest, peace activist, and p… · b. 1921
Mark PavelichAmerican ice hockey player · b. 1958
Matt CullenAmerican ice hockey player · b. 1976
Nick BegichAmerican politician · b. 1932
F
Frank BrimsekAmerican ice hockey goaltender · b. 1915
Willard IkolaAmerican ice hockey player · b. 1932
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Another post office, Elisburg, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Elisburg
1913–1927
Melrude
1927–today
19101970today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Central LakesMelrude
Gone or out of use
Melrude Post Officepost office
1cemetery inside Ellsburg Township
Riverview

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Cotton TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMcDavitt TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Ellsburg Township’s history

Memory lane

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

Town Square →
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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 U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.