Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Elbert

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 · Elbert

Elbert’s post office opened in 1875, and 68% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the St. Mark United Presbyterian Church. Below: maps from 1940 on.

1875first post office
1on the National Register
68%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Elbert began

When was Elbert founded?

1875

The Elbert post office opened in 1875, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 188151 years
Founding year: the first Elbert post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Elbert’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 Elbert are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Elbert’s homes were built before 1938.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Elbert’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Elbert’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

How Elbert came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Elbert.

Read it all →

The Elbert, Colorado Territory, post office opened on March 12, 1875. The community takes its name from Elbert County.

The most significant flood events in Elbert County occurred in 1935, 1965, 1997, and 1999. The most damaging flood was in 1935, when flooding on Kiowa Creek destroyed three-fourths of the structures location in Elbert and resulted in nine deaths, seven of them in Elbert. All bridges were lost, 59 buildings were destroyed, water was 8 to 15 feet (2.4 to 4.6 m) deep, and there were 5 feet (1.5 m) of sand. Three-fourths of the town of Elbert was destroyed and not rebuilt.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Elbert, decade by decade

Today5 recent
Water tower in2023Water tower inKiowa Creek (Colorado)2023Kiowa Creek (Colorado)Elbert, Colorado welcome sign2023Elbert, Colorado welcome signElbert School2023Elbert SchoolElbert, CO2018Elbert, CO
On the map

Elbert on the map, 1940 to 1970

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

Elbert on the 1940 USGS mapElbert on the 1970 USGS map1940Elbert 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 Elbert.

On the National Register

1 historic place in Elbert

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1980
St. Mark United Presbyterian Church
St. Mark United Presbyterian Church
Buildings
St. Mark United Presbyterian ChurchBuilding

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Questions about Elbert’s history

What year was Elbert founded?

The Elbert post office opened in 1875, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Elbert?

One place: the St. Mark United Presbyterian Church (listed 1980).

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 (5), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, 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.