Our Community

Welcome to Ellsworth, Kansas!

A Community with great schools, three beautiful parks, a golf course, an airport, a swimming pool, great hunting and fishing Ellsworth is now home to almost 3,000 people. Ellsworth is a small but bustling community that prides itself in its innovative and progressive approaches to growth and development balanced with small-town charm and friendliness. As the county seat of Ellsworth County, Ellsworth is located just seven miles south of I-70 and is accessible by Kansas highways 14, 140 and 156. The community takes pride in its storied past. The county, a fort, and our City were named for Lt. Allen Ellsworth. Fort Ellsworth, later to be known as Fort Harker, was established in 1864. As rumors spread that the Kansas Pacific Railroad would establish their western terminal near the fort, speculators flocked to Ellsworth to seek their fortunes. The cattle drovers brought many people and livestock to the City via the Ellsworth Trail and played a key role in Ellsworth's early development. During this surge of population, the City of Ellsworth was established on May 8, 1867. Severe flooding forced the City upstream a few miles to its present site where it has evolved into a great place to raise a family and an even better place to call home.