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–Not graded
History · Ellsworth

Ellsworth’s post office opened in 1856, and 12% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1928 on and the census since 1800.

1856first post office
0on the National Register
12%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: User:Magicpiano · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Ellsworth began

When was Ellsworth founded?

1856

The Ellsworth post office opened in 1856, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 47 in 18002020 census: 93170 years
Founding year: the first Ellsworth post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).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 writtenNo old photos of Ellsworth are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost two-thirds of its people between 1850 and 1960, then grew more than tenfold.
★ 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
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Ellsworth, census by census

010020030018001850190019502000320 in 1850Low: 3

Lost two-thirds of its people between 1850 and 1960, then grew more than tenfold.

23 censuses, 1800–2020.

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 →

The town was originally known as "Trecothick", after Barlow Trecothick, a Bostonian who moved to London. He was an alderman, a Member of Parliament (MP), and a Lord Mayor of the City of London. He had a country estate at Addington, London, now called Addington Palace.

The name of the town was changed to "Ellsworth" in 1802, in honor of Chief Justice Oliver Ellsworth.

The first census of the town, in 1800, reported 47 residents.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Ellsworth, 1850 to 1928

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1850CensusPopulation peaks at 320
  3. 1856Post officeThe Ellsworth post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1917Post officeThe Ellsworth post office closes
  6. 1928On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Ellsworth, decade by decade

Today2 recent
EllsworthNH TownHall2013EllsworthNH TownHallEllsworthNH ChapelOfStJohnOfTheMountains2013EllsworthNH ChapelOfStJohnOfTheMountains
On the map

Ellsworth on the map, 1928 to 1931

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 1928 USGS mapEllsworth on the 1931 USGS map1928Plymouth sheet · 1:62,500

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Ellsworth

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

See all →
George WhippleAmerican physician and biomedical researcher · b. 1878
Bode MillerAmerican alpine ski racer · b. 1977
Eliza CoupeAmerican actress · b. 1981
Nathan CliffordAmerican politician · b. 1803
Clara Eaton CummingsAmerican cryptogamic botanist and university te… · b. 1855
Norris CottonAmerican politician · b. 1900
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and places now gone

Ellsworth had its own post office from 1856 to 1917.

Ellsworth
1856–1917
18501940today
Gone or out of use
Camp Number 4locale

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.

RumneyIts storyB+CamptonIts storyB−WarrenIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWentworthIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Ellsworth’s history

What year was Ellsworth founded?

The Ellsworth post office opened in 1856, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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 (2), Wikipedia, 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.