ELLENDALE, Del.--Carrying passengers, mail, and goods to beach communities used to be a normal part of the railroad system on Delmarva in the later half of the 19th century.
A rail line was planned to connect Milford and Georgetown to the beaches. The Civil War however, delayed construction. By 1869 it was completed with its ending in Lewes. Ellendale was one of the stops.
Later in 1878, the line was extended to Rehoboth Beach. The line would continue to grow as part of the Queen Anne's Railroad in Maryland.
The square in Ellendale led to growth in the town. First, it was a pump box and water tower. Then stores, a cannery, and sawmill. That was followed by some small factories.
Moreover, the car began to replace the train as the preferred mode of transportation. The completion of U.S. Route 113 in 1918 started the decline of the Ellendale economy and the factories began to close.
The marker commemorating this boom time for the town was erected in 2004.
