Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Elk Creek

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
–Not graded
History · Elk Creek

Elk Creek’s post office opened in 1872, and 44% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1948 on.

1872first post office
0on the National Register
44%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Elk Creek began

When was Elk Creek founded?

1872

The Elk Creek post office opened in 1872, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 138154 years
Founding year: the first Elk Creek post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Elk Creek’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 Elk Creek are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Elk Creek’s homes were built before 1953.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Elk Creek’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story so far

Elk Creek, in brief

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

Elk Creek is a census-designated place in Glenn County, California, United States. It is located 19 miles (31 km) northwest of Willows, at an elevation of 745 feet (227 m). The 2020 census reported that Elk Creek's population was 138. It is home to the smallest public high school in California, which has an enrollment of about 35 students in grades 7 through 12. The Grindstone Indian Rancheria of Wintun-Wailaki Indians, founded in 1907, is located approximately seven miles north of the town and conducts business in Elk Creek. The best-known landmark nearby is a mountain named Bidwell Point. The first post office at Elk Creek opened in 1872. The town of Elk Creek is just north of Stony Gorge…

Its first post office opened in 1872. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 163 to 138 (-15%).

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.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
Add from your album
On the map

Elk Creek on the map, 1948 to 1996

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Elk Creek. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Elk Creek on the 1948 USGS mapElk Creek on the 1957 USGS mapElk Creek on the 1968 USGS mapElk Creek on the 1996 USGS map1948Elk Creek sheet · 1:62,500

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Elk Creek

Nobody well known was born in Elk Creek itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Blaire WhiteAmerican YouTuber and political commentator · b. 1993
R
Ralph GoingsAmerican artist · b. 1928
Tyler ReddickAmerican stock car racing driver · b. 1996
A
Ace AdamsAmerican baseball player · b. 1910
G
George WrightAmerican organist · b. 1920
L
Lynn S. BeedleAmerican structural engineer · b. 1917

Questions about Elk Creek’s history

What year was Elk Creek founded?

The Elk Creek post office opened in 1872, 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 U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.