Ellston

History

In 1881, anticipating the railroad, Cochran & Le Fever built a general store, giving birth to the village of Wirt. The business failed and was sold six months later, but in March 1882 the Humeston & Shenandoah Railroad established a station here. In 1895 the town's name of Wirt was changed to Ellston so mail would be correctly received, rather than confused with the nearby northeasterly town of Van Wert. The westerly border of Ellston is county road P-64. This road was originally part of the Dragoon Trace.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all land.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  629
• Red-winged Blackbird

  Agelaius phoeniceus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  600
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  562
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  539
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  400
• Eastern Meadowlark

  Sturnella magna (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  381
• Northern Flicker

  Colaptes auratus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  373
• Brown-headed Cowbird

  Molothrus ater (Boddaert, 1783) · Aves
  354

Most recent

• M 2.5 — 2025-06-25
  10 km WNW of Marysville, Iowa
• M 3 — 2025-06-25
  5 km S of Knoxville, Iowa