Ells, Iowa

Ells, Iowa
Ghost town
Ells, Iowa
Coordinates: 42°10′03″N95°14′13″W / 42.16750°N 95.23694°W / 42.16750; -95.23694
Country	United States
State	Iowa
County	Crawford
Elevation	1,221 [1]  ft (372 m)
Time zone	UTC-6 (Central (CST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (CDT)
Area code	712

Ells was an unincorporated community in Crawford County, in the U.S. state of Iowa. Today it is a ghost town.

History

Stockholm Township, Iowa 1920, showing the location of Boyer, Old Kiron, and Ells.

Ells was a village in Stockholm Township, Crawford County, Iowa, platted in either 1899 ^[2] or 1900. ^[3] A post office was established in Ells on January 24, 1900 by Benjamin F. Ells. ^[3] News of the new post office appeared in the Daily Iowa Capital in Des Moines on February 15, 1900. ^[4]

Ells, located one mile south of Boyer, was on the Illinois Central Railroad and had a train depot and general store in 1911. Benjamin Ells served as the postmaster, appointed by President William McKinley. ^[5]

The post office at Ells was discontinued April 15, 1914. ^[3] In 1915, the population of Ells was 26. ^[6] Today, Crawford County residents consider Ells a "lost" town. ^[3]

Further reading

Lees, James H. The History of Boyer Valley (1919)

References

1. Lees, James (1927). Geology of Crawford County. p. 270.
2. "Crawford County, Iowa, History". iagenweb.org. Archived from the original on October 3, 2022. Retrieved October 3, 2022.
3. "Forgotten Towns of Crawford County, Iowa". www.crawfordcounty.iowa.gov. Archived from the original on October 3, 2022. Retrieved October 3, 2022.
4. "Iowa at Washington". Daily Iowa Capital. Des Moines, Iowa. p. 8.
5. Meyers, F. W. (1911). History of Crawford County, Iowa: A Record of Settlement, Organization, Progress and Achievement. S. J. Clarke Publishing Company.
6. Atlas of Johnson County, Iowa. Iowa City, Iowa: Economy Advertising Company. 1917. Archived from the original on October 3, 2022. Retrieved October 3, 2022.

See also

Old Kiron, Iowa, another ghost town in Stockholm Township