The area that became Ellendale began as forest and swamp bridging the divide between the Chesapeake and Delaware Bays. After European contact it was a province of fur traders and hunters, and in the eighteenth century farming and timbering pushed back the swamp. During the 1780 Black Camp Insurrection in the American Revolution, the Nanticoke Swamp became a refuge for Loyalists. In the Federal era, the Old State Road was built to connect Georgetown with Dover, and railroads came after the Civil War. With emancipation, African Americans took up free lives in the area. The community was first surveyed in 1867 and soon absorbed the older villages of Federalsburg and New Market. Agricultural and forest products were shipped over the rails, and churches and schools were founded. The town was incorporated in 1905. Canning and refrigeration strengthened commerce, the DuPont Highway was completed in 1918, and the Ellendale State Forest was established in 1927. The Volunteer Fire Department was organized in April 1920 and the Police Department in the 1970’s. Main Street became a highway to the beaches, and the community’s location continues to make it a thoroughfare for commerce and a beacon for growth.