History & Culture · Western New York
Ellington calls itself the Grand Old Town for a reason
Ellington's own town page gives it a simple Chautauqua County identity: formed in 1824, crossed by Route 62, and edged by Conewango Creek.
Published July 7, 2026 · Last verified July 7, 2026
Ellington opens with a friendly old phrase: welcome to the “Grand Old Town.” The details underneath are simple, but they give the place a usable shape.
Ellington was formed in 1824. U.S. Route 62 runs southeast through town, while NYS Route 83 passes through the northeast part of town, parallel to Conewango Creek. The town sits in southwestern Chautauqua County, along the Cattaraugus County line. That puts it in the quieter country between larger lake-and-interstate landmarks, where roads, creeks, and county edges do a lot of the explaining.
That is enough to make Ellington feel less like just another rural name. It is a road-and-creek town at the county edge, with a town hall still presented as the center of local government.
The phrase “Grand Old Town” lands better when you pair it with those old-fashioned civic pieces: routes, creek, border, town hall, and a place organized under the same name since the 1820s. For a visitor, it is the kind of small town where the main story is not a single attraction. It is the steadiness of a name, a crossing, and a community that still introduces itself plainly.