Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 22% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Most of Elkhart was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2005. Below: maps from 1911 on and the census since 1910.
Elkhart dates its founding to 1853 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1910.
More historic than 22% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Elkhart is more historic than 22% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
Iowa towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Iowa town has 9.1 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Elkhart’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (17% of Iowa towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
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 →
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Elkhart’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of Elkhart.
Elkhart was founded in 1853 by settlers from Elkhart, Indiana. After a decline in the population of the original town, the Elkhart Post Office was moved to the nearby town of Ottawa. In a few years, the name would be moved once again to its current location. It was incorporated as a city on July 27, 1904.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Elkhart, cut from the printed page as they were published.
contracting and jobbing, so he was more or less connected with this business in his early boyhood. In the fall of 1864 he came to Black Hawk county, this State, and the following spring to Des Moines, and shortly afterward settled in Elkhart township, where he engaged in farming and milling. He afterward moved to Jasper county, where he made his home for two years, and then in 1874 came back to Des Moines, when on the 13th day ot May, of that year, he lost his left arm in a saw mill. In June of 1875 he came to his present location, where he has made farming and the
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
2021ElkhartIowaPopPlot2020
2014Cory Grove Church
2012St. Mary's Church
2009Elkhart Iowa 20090503 Water Tower
2009Elkhart Iowa 20090503 Sign
2009Elkhart Iowa 20090503 Post Office
2009Elkhart Iowa 20090503 Memorial Park
2009Elkhart Iowa 20090503 Fire Station
2009Elkhart Iowa 20090503 Community Center
2009Elkhart Iowa 20090503 City HallEvery edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Elkhart. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Elkhart.
Grew from 132 people in 1910 to 882 in 2020, 6 times over.
12 censuses, 1910–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Elkhart’s Wikipedia page.
Nobody well known was born in Elkhart itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Elkhart’s post office has been open since 1854. Another post office, Bloomington, opened and closed inside today’s town.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
In 1853, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Elkhart’s post office opened in 1854, and the census of 1910 counted 132 people here.
Elkhart is more historic than 22% 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.
7% of Elkhart’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.2 points), against a typical 22% for an Iowa town; the median home was built in 2005.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (10), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
