The little town of Ellsworth was named after one of the officials of the Chicago Burlington and Quincy Railroad in 1888. Bartlett Richards, who came from the east, bought the first piece of the Spade Ranch that same year. He soon built a general store that sold groceries and supplies that freight wagons hauled north to the ranch and settlers. A hotel was built across the street from the store and a windmill set in the middle of town. Richards also built his summer home with a courtyard that served as the Spade Ranch headquarters. The stockyard was used to ship cattle to the Omaha Livestock Market, and the passenger trains were a way of travel back east. Today, the old Spade Store is an important part of the community, offering a place to pick up mail at the Post Office and visit over a cup of coffee. It is still a general store selling food and drinks, horse supplies, hunting and fishing supplies, guns, boots and clothing, and books about our wonderful history of the Spade Ranch and Mari Sandoz. In Ellsworth, a tiny school on skids sits in a beautiful school yard and was once pulled to the ranches when a school was needed in that area. The historical marker in Ellsworth tells the history of the Spade Ranch and Bartlett Richards, “perhaps Nebraska’s most famous rancher ever.”

Elevation: 1,906 feet
County: Sheridan