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Kansas County
Ellsworth County, Kansas
Ellsworth's cattle town heritage and Kanopolis Lake - from Ellsworth's brief cattle town era (from 1872-1875 Ellsworth was a significant Cheyenne Trail cattle shipping point - Wild Bill Hickok's friend Bear River Tom Smith served as marshal and the town's violence rivaled Abilene's - the Ellsworth County Historical Society Museum documents this turbulent period) to Kanopolis Lake and State Park (Kansas's oldest state park, established 1948 around the 3,500-acre Smoky Hill River reservoir - the park's sandstone canyon, petroglyphs, and equestrian trails make it one of central Kansas's most distinctive recreation areas).
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Office: Ellsworth County Emergency Management – 210 N. Kansas Avenue, Ellsworth, KS 67439 | Director Keith Haberer | (785) 810-4332.
Sheriff: Ellsworth County Sheriff’s Office – 212 N. Kansas Avenue, Ellsworth, KS 67439 | (785) 472-4416; Sheriff Kenny Bernard. Jail (built 1981) capacity 19 beds, averaging 14 inmates daily. Deputies cover roughly 720 square miles including I-70, K-156, K-14, K-4, K-140, and the Kanopolis Lake state/federal grounds.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: I-70 and K-14 serve Ellsworth, the county seat, in central Kansas.
Notes: Ellsworth County was organized in August 1867, named for Lieutenant Allen Ellsworth, who established Fort Ellsworth on the Smoky Hill River in 1864.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Ellsworth County Courthouse – Ellsworth, KS.
Notes: Ellsworth has a genuinely wild cattle-town history. Growing up beside Fort Ellsworth (renamed Fort Harker in 1866), the town became a booming Kansas Pacific Railroad shipping point and dominated the Kansas cattle trade from 1871 to 1875, briefly eclipsing even Abilene as the state’s leading cattle-shipping destination – a single dry goods store catering to cowboys reported $150,000 in business during the 1873 season alone. Herds arrived via the “Ellsworth Cattle Trail,” a shortcut off the famous Chisholm Trail. The town attracted a remarkable roster of Old West figures connected to Fort Harker, including George Armstrong Custer, Philip Sheridan, Buffalo Bill Cody, and Wild Bill Hickok (both serving as scouts), plus Sheriff Chauncey B. Whitney, later killed in a card-game dispute on Ellsworth’s streets. The Fort Harker Guardhouse and Commanding Officers’ Quarters, preserved by the Ellsworth County Historical Society as a museum in nearby Kanopolis, are separately listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The county is also part of Kansas’s genuine “Post Rock Country,” where distinctive Greenhorn limestone was cut into fence posts by early settlers due to a scarcity of timber, and it carries a strong Czech immigrant heritage.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Ellsworth County Veterans Affairs – confirm current contact via ellsworthcounty.org.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Ellsworth Public Library (Ellsworth) – confirm current address/phone via the county library system.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: The Fort Harker Museum in Kanopolis, Kanopolis Lake, and Post Rock Country’s distinctive limestone fence posts are the county’s premier heritage and outdoor attractions.
Notes: The genuine Wild West cattle-town heritage and Fort Harker’s roster of famous historical figures make Ellsworth one of the most colorful counties covered in this project.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Ellsworth County Appraiser’s Office – confirm current contact via ellsworthcounty.org.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
⚠️ No confirmed dedicated Ellsworth County animal shelter was found in current sourcing (only Ellsworth Animal Hospital, a private veterinary clinic, 976 Hwy 156, Ellsworth, KS, (785) 472-5175). Residents should contact the Ellsworth County Sheriff’s Office, (785) 472-4416, for current animal control arrangements.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Ellsworth County Noxious Weed & Landfill – confirm current contact via ellsworthcounty.org.
NOTES: Ellsworth County is the sixth county in the fourth Kansas Round 3 batch, under the A+ sourced standard established for this project. The genuine Wild West cattle-town heritage and Fort Harker’s roster of famous historical figures make Ellsworth one of the most colorful counties covered in this project. ⚠️ Animal services could not be confirmed and are flagged for follow-up rather than smoothed over. All contact information above was sourced via web search as of early August 2026 and should be reconfirmed directly with the relevant office before a visit, deadline-sensitive filing, or emergency-adjacent decision.
About Ellsworth County
Ellsworth County is central Kansas’s cattle town and oldest state park county – Ellsworth’s brief violent cattle era and Kanopolis State Park’s sandstone canyons and ancient petroglyphs define a community with deep historical and natural heritage.
Ellsworth (the county seat, population ~3,000) was one of the original Kansas cattle towns – the Cheyenne Cattle Trail’s northern terminus from 1872-1875 brought Texas longhorns, cowboys, gamblers, and gunfighters before the railhead moved westward.
Kanopolis State Park – Kansas’s oldest, established 1948 – surrounds the 3,500-acre Kanopolis Reservoir. The park’s sandstone formations contain Native American petroglyphs and provide equestrian trails, hiking, and camping.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Ellsworth County Appraiser at 210 N. Kansas Avenue, Ellsworth, KS 67439, phone 785-472-3165. KS residential assessed at 11.5% of appraised value.
Courts & Legal
Ellsworth County District Court at 210 N. Kansas Avenue, Ellsworth, KS 67439, phone 785-472-4052, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK (Records, Elections)
210 N. Kansas Ave., Ellsworth, KS 67439
(785) 472-4161
DISTRICT COURT CLERK (Court Records, Marriage Licenses)
210 N. Kansas Ave., Ellsworth, KS 67439
(785) 472-4051
ELECTIONS (County Clerk)
210 N. Kansas Ave., Ellsworth, KS 67439
(785) 472-4161
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Ellsworth County District Court (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Ellsworth’s Wild West cattle-town heritage is a notable local historical topic.
Local societies
No dedicated Ellsworth County genealogical society was confirmed in available directories.
Probate & Estate
Losing someone and having to deal with courts and paperwork at the same time is hard. This section won’t make that easier, but it should tell you what to expect, what it costs, and where to go – so at least you’re not walking in blind.
Where to go
Ellsworth County District Court, 20th Judicial District 210 North Kansas Avenue, Ellsworth, KS 67439 (785) 472-4052
Ellsworth County is in central Kansas, seated in Ellsworth along the Smoky Hill River, historically a Wild West cattle town.
Step 1: figure out which path applies
Kansas has NOT adopted the Uniform Probate Code, maintaining its own statutory framework under the Kansas Probate Code (K.S.A. Chapter 59). Kansas offers several tracks depending on estate size and complexity:
Small Estate Affidavit – for estates where the total value of probate property, less liens and encumbrances, does not exceed $75,000 (raised from $40,000 effective July 1, 2023), available under K.S.A. 59-1507b. This transfers personal property only. If the decedent left a will, it must still be filed with the probate court even though it isn’t being formally probated.
Simplified Administration – under the Kansas Simplified Estates Act (K.S.A. 59-3201 et seq.), the most common route for straightforward estates.
Formal Probate – supervised or unsupervised administration through the District Court for larger or more complex estates.
A will must be filed for probate within 6 months of death, or it may not be admitted, forcing the estate into intestate distribution.
Step 2: filing for formal probate
File a Petition for Probate of Will and Appointment of Executor (if there’s a will) or a Petition for Administration (if intestate) with the Ellsworth County District Court.
The court admits the will (if any) and appoints the personal representative.
Notice to creditors is published per court order; creditors have a defined window to file claims.
The personal representative inventories assets, pays valid debts and expenses, and – under unsupervised administration – acts with reduced court check-ins.
Without a surviving spouse or children, Kansas intestate succession law (K.S.A. 59-501 et seq.) determines which blood relatives inherit.
After debts are paid, the personal representative distributes assets and files a final accounting; the court closes the estate upon approval.
What it costs
Court costs may be remitted for small estates under recent statutory changes.
Executor/administrator and attorney fees are generally reasonable-fee based rather than a fixed statutory percentage.
Typical timelines: Small Estate Affidavit can proceed relatively quickly; formal probate commonly takes several months to over a year.
Probate filings, estate administration, and guardianship matters are handled by the following office(s):
Public Safety & Arrests
Arrest records, inmate search, and law enforcement services are handled by the following office(s):
SHERIFF
210 N. Kansas Ave., Ellsworth, KS 67439
(785) 472-3315
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK (Records, Elections)
210 N. Kansas Ave., Ellsworth, KS 67439
(785) 472-4161
ELECTIONS (County Clerk)
210 N. Kansas Ave., Ellsworth, KS 67439
(785) 472-4161
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Office: Ellsworth County Health Department – confirm current contact via ellsworthcounty.org.
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Ellsworth
Population: 6,100
Area: 716 sq mi
Established: 1867
Tier: 3
Public Records
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