Ellsworth

History

Ellsworth was laid out on December 6, 1871, by Jonathan H. Cheney (1833–1920), Almon Brigham Ives (1816–1887), and Oliver Ellsworth, whom the town was named after. Cheney was one of three sons of early McLean County settler Jonathan Cheney active in promoting the Lafayette Bloomington and Mississippi Railroad; when his brother, Haines Cheney, was in the Illinois Senate he had helped to arrange the charter of the railroad. Almon B. Ives was a Bloomington lawyer specializing in land law; both Cheney and Ives were on the board of directors of the new railroad. In 1876 the railroad was leased to the Lake Erie and Western Railroad and in 1879 was incorporated into that road. Construction began on the railroad in 1869. The new townsite occupied on each side of the tracks. The plan of Ellsworth was almost identical to that of its neighbor, Arrowsmith. A swath of railroad land cut the town into two almost equal parts. Most of the early commercial development was along Main Street south of the tracks. The depot was on the south side of the tracks, and the early elevator on the north side. In November 1871 an advertisement appeared in the Bloomington Pantagraph saying that on November 8 an auction of 150 lots would be held at the site of the new town. The advertisement praised the fertility of the surrounding countryside and stressed that the farms were of moderate size. Readers were told that the new town would be the logical point for shipping grain. They were also told that by shipping from Ellsworth their grain would go through Toledo, Ohio, "avoiding the grain scalpers of Chicago." All interested people were to gather at the Illinois Central Depot in Bloomington at 9:00 in the morning. A free train would take them to the site of the new town. A free lunch would be…

Geography

Ellsworth is in eastern McLean County, east of Bloomington, the county seat, and north-northeast of Le Roy. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Ellsworth has a total area of , all land.

Race & ethnicity

Largest nearby schools

• Benjamin Elem School
  Elementary · Bloomington · 613 students · 18:1 ratio
• Tri-Valley Middle School
  Middle · Downs · 463 students · 14:1 ratio
• LeRoy Elementary School
  Elementary · Le Roy · 435 students · 13.2:1 ratio
• Tri-Valley Elem School
  Elementary · Downs · 323 students · 12.9:1 ratio
• Tri-Valley High School
  High · Downs · 309 students · 12.4:1 ratio
• Ridgeview Elementary School
  Elementary · Colfax · 236 students · 11.8:1 ratio
• LeRoy High School
  High · Le Roy · 217 students · 9.9:1 ratio
• Ridgeview High School
  High · Colfax · 163 students · 16.3:1 ratio