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ElimAlaska (cropped)Photo: Hkiernan · CC BY-SA 3.0
–Not graded
History · Elim

Elim was first counted by the census in 1920

Most of Elim was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1987. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1950 on, and the census since 1920.

1920first census
0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Elim’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Elim began

When was Elim founded?

1920

Elim first appears in the census in 1920.

First census: 162 in 19202020 census: 366106 years
Founding year: the first census.

What stands out about Elim’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost a third of its people between 1920 and 1930, then grew 3-fold.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Elim’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewElimAlaska (cropped): stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Elim, census by census

0100200300400192019401960198020002020162 in 1920Low: 97

Lost a third of its people between 1920 and 1930, then grew 3-fold.

11 censuses, 1920–2020.

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

The story so far

Elim, in brief

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

Elim (Central Yupik: Neviarcaurluq; Inupiaq: Nivviaqhchauġluq) is a city in Nome Census Area, Alaska, United States. As of the 2020 census, Elim had a population of 366.

Its first post office opened in 1920. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 330 to 366 (+11%).

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

Timeline

Elim, 1944 to 2020

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 20th century
  2. 1944Post officeThe Elim post office opens
  3. 1950On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  4. 1993In the archiveElimAlaska (cropped)
  5. 21st century
  6. 2020CensusPopulation peaks at 366
By decade

Elim, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1990s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1990s2 items
ElimAlaska (cropped)1993ElimAlaska (cropped)ElimAlaska1993ElimAlaska
Today1 recent
Sunrise Over the Bering Sea2009Sunrise Over the Bering Sea
On the map

Elim on the map in 1950

The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Elim.

Elim on the 1950 USGS map1950Solomon C-1 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 Elim.

Places that used to be

Old corners

Elim’s post office has been open since 1944.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Kuiuktalik

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about Elim’s history

What year was Elim founded?

The Elim post office opened in 1920, 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 →
Start a conversation
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 Wikimedia Commons (3), 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.