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History · Elfin Cove

Elfin Cove’s post office opened in 1935

Most of Elfin Cove was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1981. Below: maps from 1948 on and the census since 1940.

1935first post office
0on the National Register
9%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Elfin Cove began

When was Elfin Cove founded?

1935

The Elfin Cove post office opened in 1935, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 65 in 19402020 census: 2491 years
Founding year: the first Elfin Cove post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Elfin Cove’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Elfin Cove are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Elfin Cove’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Elfin Cove’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story so far

Elfin Cove, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Elfin Cove yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Elfin Cove (Lingít: X̱’óot’k’) is a census-designated place (CDP) near the northwestern corner of Chichagof Island in Hoonah-Angoon Census Area, Alaska, United States. As of the 2020 census, Elfin Cove had a population of 24.

Its first post office opened in 1935. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 20 to 24 (+20%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

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On the map

Elfin Cove on the map in 1948

The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Elfin Cove.

Elfin Cove on the 1948 USGS map1948Mount Fairweather A-2 sheet · 1:63,360

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Elfin Cove.

People over time

Elfin Cove, census by census

019401960198020002020Peak: 65

Between 20 and 65 people in every census since 1940.

8 censuses, 1940–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Elfin Cove’s Wikipedia page.

Questions about Elfin Cove’s history

What year was Elfin Cove founded?

The Elfin Cove post office opened in 1935, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.