Most of Elberta was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1995. Its Register listing is the St. Mark's Lutheran Church. Below: maps from 1921 on and the census since 1960.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1912.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Elberta’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Elberta is more historic than 20% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Elberta’s overall grade.
Alabama towns list about as much on the Register as the country (a typical Alabama town has 2.7 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Elberta’s 4.4 sits near the middle of its state (60% of Alabama towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to C. The pre-1940 share (±2.6 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1904.
Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Elberta’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Elberta was founded in the early 20th century by a Chicago-based land company. The Baldwin County Colonization Company was organized in 1903, and the first settlers arrived in 1904. The community was founded by farmers who had immigrated from Germany to the Midwest of America. The land company advertised the area as having rich soil and a climate that allowed year-round farming. The first two organized churches were Lutheran (1908) and Catholic (1905).
Dogwood Park Mobile Home Village and Recreational Vehicle ParkOleander Court Mobile Home ParkOrchards Mobile Home Park
1cemetery inside Elberta
Saint Marks
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Elberta’s history
What year was Elberta founded?
In 1904, according to Wikidata. Elberta’s post office opened in 1912, and the census of 1960 counted 384 people here.
How does Elberta rank for history?
Elberta is more historic than 20% of U.S. towns. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
What is on the National Register in Elberta?
One place: the St. Mark's Lutheran Church (listed 1988).
How old are the homes in Elberta?
3% of Elberta’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.6 points), against a typical 3.2% for an Alabama town; the median home was built in 1995.
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).
From Wikimedia Commons (4), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, 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.
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