reporting to the FBI. Economy Ellendale, like many towns established in the mid-19th century, had a railroad based economy. Ellendale was centered around a junction of two rail lines. The north-south rail line is still in operation today as a freight line, operated by Delmarva Central Railroad and known as the Indian River Subdivision, although passenger operations have ceased. This secondary is designated as the area running from Harrington, Delaware south to the NRG Energy power plant. The main freight hauled on the track is coal for the NRG power plant located near Millsboro, Delaware. Other freight includes a mix of fertilizer, grain, paper, food products, chemicals, and stone. The Delmarva Central Railroad also operates another rail line in Ellendale, the Milton Branch of the former Queen Anne's Railroad, which leaves the Indian River Subdivision at Willow Street and heads east to Milton, Delaware. This line, called the Milton Industrial Track, is from interchange to endpoint, and is currently used to store covered hoppers for Perdue and for other railcar owners. Plans are currently underway for this line to reopen with more operations to a propane tank farm being constructed in Milton. The largest employer in Ellendale is the Ellendale Recovery Response Center, a health facility for adults with mental health or substance abuse issues. This facility is operated in the former Ellendale public school and took the place of the Kent/Sussex Detoxification Center formerly operated by the Delaware Department of Health and Social Services. Other businesses include a machine shop, a nonprofit mental health medical facility, Philadelphia Bible College, and Perdue Farms research laboratory. Infrastructure Transportation Delaware Route 16 is the only highway directly serving Ellendale, running east-west along Main Street through the town. Also known as Beach Highway, DE 16 is a main thoroughfare to Delaware's resort beaches, connecting Ellendale with Milton to the east and Greenwood to the west. U.S. Route 113 bypasses Ellendale to the west, connecting the town with Milford to the north and Georgetown to the south via DE 16. Also known as DuPont Boulevard, US 113's opening allowed greater access to the town. An anonymous writer in the now extinct Sunday Star newspaper wrote of the Ellendale area " ...formerly one of the worst spots in the State for the traveler, where during the winter months, horses and men and automobiles became so deeply mired that they were continually having to be rescued."