Ellsworth County is named for Fort Ellsworth, which was named for Allen Ellsworth who was a 2nd Lieutenant of the 7th Iowa Cavalry and who supervised the construction of the fort.
Surrounding County Courthouses:
N – Lincoln County
E – Saline County and McPherson County
S – Rice County
W – Barton County and Russell County
Created: February 16, 1867 
County Seat:
Ellsworth 1867 - present
County Courthouse – Ellsworth
Location: 210 North Kansas Avenue / West 1st Street
Built: 1953 – 1954
Style: Modern
Architect: Mann & Company of Hutchinson
Contractor: Walter Armngost Construction Company of Wichita.
Description: The building faces southeast and is a four story buff colored brick and concrete structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of Ellsworth. The building is tired rising to the fourth story at the center. The central part of the southeast front projects from the main building and has dark red colored stone trim around the entrance and second story windows. The east and west wings are lower. There are brown colored panels between the first and second story windows. The roof line is flat. In the interior, the County District Court courtroom is located at the center of the second story on the south side. The building houses the County District Court of the 20th Judicial District. On the northeast side is the County Law Enforsement Center.
Note: The associate architect was John G Seitz and the electrical contractor was Paul Merrill Construction Company of Salina.
See: The architect, Mann & Company of Hutchinson, designed courthouses in Ellis County, Graham County, Lane County, Pratt County, Republic County, Scott County, Stafford County and Stevens County.
See: The 20th Judicial District includes Barton County, Rice County, Russell County and Stafford County.
History: The county was created in 1867 and Ellsworth was selected as the county seat. The first courthouse was a two story brick structure built in 1872 at a cost of $12,000 in Ellsworth. The second courthouse was designed by George W Schafer and constructed by J W Gardinier in 1889. The courthouse was demolished when the third and present courthouse was constructed in 1953 to 1954.
County Courthouse – Ellsworth
Coiunty District Court courtroom
County Law Enforcement Center – Ellsworth
Photos taken 2010 and 2022