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History · Ellerbe

Ellerbe’s post office opened in 1895, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

Most of Ellerbe was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1980. Its Register listing is the Ellerbe Springs Hotel. Below: maps from 1956 on and the census since 1920.

1895first post office
1on the National Register
8%homes built before 1940
3famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Ellerbe began

When was Ellerbe founded?

1895

The Ellerbe post office opened in 1895, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 473 in 19202020 census: 864131 years
Founding year: the first Ellerbe post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Ellerbe’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 Ellerbe are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Ellerbe’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Ellerbe’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

How Ellerbe came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Ellerbe.

Read it all →

In the 1700s Scottish settlers held a fair every May and November in the present location of Ellerbe, leading locals to dub the place "the Fair Grounds". W. T. Ellerbe later developed a spa nearby called Ellerbe Springs, and thereafter the community took its name. A railroad was built to Ellerbe in 1910 and a depot was constructed. The town was incorporated the following year. At the time it only had a population of 50. By 1923 it had grown to a population of over 500, with several mills, two banks, three churches, a telephone exchange, and a hotel. The rail line remained in service until 1954, and the depot burnt down several years later.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Ellerbe, 1895 to 1981

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1895Post officeThe Ellerbe post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1912Born hereL.G. DeWitt is born here
  5. 1949Born hereTravis Carter is born here
  6. 1956On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1981Born hereMichael Waddell is born here
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

Ellerbe on the map, 1956 to 1982

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

Ellerbe on the 1956 USGS mapEllerbe on the 1976 USGS mapEllerbe on the 1982 USGS map1956Ellerbe 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 Ellerbe.

On the National Register

1 historic place in Ellerbe

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
1980
Ellerbe Springs Hotel
Ellerbe Springs Hotel
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Victorian1
Greek Revival1
Ellerbe Springs HotelVictorian

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

People over time

Ellerbe, census by census

02004006008001,0001,200192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,132

Between 473 and 1,132 people in every census since 1920.

11 censuses, 1920–2020.

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

Famous people

3 famous people were born in Ellerbe

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
M
Michael WaddellAmerican football cornerback · b. 1981
L
L.G. DeWittNASCAR team owner · b. 1912
Travis CarterNASCAR crew chief and team owner · b. 1949

Questions about Ellerbe’s history

What year was Ellerbe founded?

The Ellerbe post office opened in 1895, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Ellerbe?

One place: the Ellerbe Springs Hotel (listed 1980).

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 Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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) 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.