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

Ells, Iowa
Ells, Iowa is located in Iowa
Ells, Iowa
Ells, Iowa
Coordinates: 42°10′03″N 95°14′13″W / 42.16750°N 95.23694°W / 42.16750; -95.23694
CountryUnited States
StateIowa
CountyCrawford
Elevation
1,221 [1] ft (372 m)
Time zoneUTC-6 (Central (CST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-5 (CDT)
Area code712

History

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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

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

References

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  1. ^ Lees, James (1927). Geology of Crawford County. p. 270.
  2. ^ "Crawford County, Iowa, History". iagenweb.org. Retrieved October 3, 2022.
  3. ^ a b c d "Forgotten Towns of Crawford County, Iowa". www.crawfordcounty.iowa.gov. 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.

See also

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Old Kiron, Iowa, another ghost town in Stockholm Township