 The coal town was founded by James Ellsworth who bought up the land in 1890s, developed the Monongahela Railway, and sold the mines to Bethlehem Steel in the 1920s.Ellsworth is located at (40.105887, -80.020455).According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of , of which, of it is land and of it (2.63%) is water.