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History · Ellsworth

Ellsworth dates to 1873, and 26% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1967 on, and the census since 1890.

1873founded
0on the National Register
26%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Ellsworth’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Ellsworth began

When was Ellsworth founded?

1873

Ellsworth dates its founding to 1873 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1890.

First census: 258 in 18902020 census: 497153 years
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1884.The full story ↓

What stands out about Ellsworth’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.Boom and bustPeaked at 667 in 1920; 497 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of Ellsworth’s homes were built before 1956.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Ellsworth’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Ellsworth’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 viewEllsworth postcard 1910-1: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Ellsworth, census by census

01002003004005006007001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 667

Peaked at 667 in 1920; 497 people lived here in 2020.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

The story

How Ellsworth came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Ellsworth.

Read it all →

Early history: Ellsworth is located in Grand Prairie Township in the extreme southwestern corner of Nobles County. The township was organized in 1873, though settlers had taken up residence in the township as early as 1871. One of these early settlers is known in history only as "Uncle" Stillwell. Mr Stillwell made a claim to the land where Ellsworth now stands, and he established a small store on his farmstead, supplying the needs of local farmers. He also operated a peddler's wagon in the vicinity. Mr. Stillwell had great confidence in the future of the region, and often remarked that a town would one day be located on his property, or very near to it. However, Stillwell packed up and left the area two years before the town of Ellsworth was eventually established in 1884. Ellsworth sits on Stillwell's former claim, and the business district of the town is located less than 1/…

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Ellsworth in 1908

Passages that mention Ellsworth, cut from the printed page as they were published.

Torrance's general store in the town of Ellsworth, which had just been founded. He was the manager of the store two years, and then ue started iu the grain business at Ellsworth on his own account, later engaging in the same business at Worthington. He also embarked in the meicunlile business at V\…
An illustrated history of Nobles County, Minnesota1908 · page 460Read the page →
Read the text

Torrance's general store in the town of Ellsworth, which had just been founded. He was the manager of the store two years, and then ue started iu the grain business at Ellsworth on his own account, later engaging in the same business at Worthington. He also embarked in the meicunlile business at V\ orthington as a member of the

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
nerville. Wis., and after his arrival in Nobios county he attended the district school of tlrand Prairie township, and later, when the town of Ellsworth was founded in 1884, lie was a student in the graded schools of that village. Completing the course there ill 1893, he began teaching school just …
An illustrated history of Nobles County, Minnesota1908 · page 454Read the page →
Read the text

nerville. Wis., and after his arrival in Nobios county he attended the district school of tlrand Prairie township, and later, when the town of Ellsworth was founded in 1884, lie was a student in the graded schools of that village. Completing the course there ill 1893, he began teaching school just over the line in Iowa. During the winter of

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Timeline

Ellsworth, 1873 to 1967

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1873
    FoundingEllsworth is established
  3. 1884Post officeThe Ellsworth post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1910In the archiveEllsworth postcard 1910-1
  6. 1920CensusPopulation peaks at 667
  7. 1967On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Ellsworth, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1910s1 item
Ellsworth postcard 1910-11910Ellsworth postcard 1910-1Postcard
1920s–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
Today2 recent
EllsworthMN2007EllsworthMNMNMap-doton-Ellsworth2005MNMap-doton-Ellsworth
On the map

Ellsworth on the map, 1967 to 1985

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

Ellsworth on the 1967 USGS mapEllsworth on the 1985 USGS map1967Ellsworth 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 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.

Ellsworth postcard 1910-1
Retake this viewEllsworth postcard 1910-1, 1910

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

Retake this view · +15
Places that used to be

Places now gone

Ellsworth’s post office has been open since 1884.

Gone or out of use
Ellsworthlocale

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 1873, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Ellsworth’s post office opened in 1884, and the census of 1890 counted 258 people here.

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 (3), Wikipedia, 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 old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.