The Ellington post office opened in 1851, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Stephensville (1858), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 3,174175 years
How historic is Ellington?
C
More historic than 31% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Ellington post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Ellington’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Ellington is more historic than 31% of U.S. towns, #286 of 362 in Wisconsin. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Ellington’s overall grade.
Wisconsin towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Wisconsin town has 3.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Ellington’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (28% of Wisconsin towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to C+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.9 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (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 Ellington’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Ellington yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Ellington is a town in Outagamie County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 3,174 at the 2020 census. The unincorporated community of Stephensville is located in the town.
Its first post office opened in 1851. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 2,758 to 3,174 (+15%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Ellington, 1851 to 1969
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Ellington had its own post office from 1851 to 1858. Another post office, Stephensville, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Ellington
1851–1858
Stephensville
1858–1903
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Stephensville
Gone or out of use
Elm Grove Center SchoolschoolGrandview SchoolschoolLaFollette SchoolschoolLutheran SchoolschoolPershing SchoolschoolPleasant Vale SchoolschoolRexford Schoolschool
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Ellington
EllingtonRexfordSaint Patricks
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.
The Ellington post office opened in 1851, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Ellington rank for history?
Ellington is more historic than 31% of U.S. towns, #286 of 362 in Wisconsin. 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.
How old are the homes in Ellington?
12% of Ellington’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.9 points), against a typical 12% for a Wisconsin town; the median home was built in 1992.
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 (3), 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.
2010
2010
2004
