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History · Elma

Elma’s post office opened in 1886, and 47% of its homes were built before 1940

1886first post office
0on the National Register
47%homes built before 1940
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Elma began

When was Elma founded?

1886

The Elma post office opened in 1886, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Howard (1856) and Busti (1860), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

2020 census: 505140 years
Founding year: the first Elma post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Elma’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 Elma are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Elma’s homes were built before 1943.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Elma.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Elma’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Elma’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 Elma came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Elma.

Read it all →

Elma had its start in the late 1880s by the building of the railroad through that territory. The Elma post office opened in 1886.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, places now gone and burying grounds

Elma’s post office has been open since 1886. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Howard
1856–1891
Busti
1860–1886
Elma
1886–today
18501940today
Gone or out of use
Elmalocale
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Elma
CalvaryHoward

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

Timeline

Elma, 1856 to 1904

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1856Post officeThe Howard post office opens
  3. 1860Post officeThe Busti post office opens
  4. 1879Born hereElizabeth Mahoney is born here
  5. 1886Post officeThe Busti post office closes
  6. 1886Post officeThe Elma post office opens
  7. 1891Post officeThe Howard post office closes
  8. 20th century
  9. 1904Born hereLyle Latell is born here
By decade

Elma, decade by decade

Today2 recent
ElmaIowaPopPlot2021ElmaIowaPopPlotIAMap-doton-Elma2004IAMap-doton-Elma
Famous people

2 famous people were born in Elma

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Lyle LatellAmerican actor · b. 1904
E
Elizabeth MahoneyAmerican screenwriter (b. 1879) · b. 1879

Questions about Elma’s history

What year was Elma founded?

The Elma post office opened in 1886, 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 (2), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.