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History · Elk River

Elk River’s post office opened in 1909, and 38% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1914 on and the census since 1920.

1909first post office
0on the National Register
38%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: A.Davey from Portland, Oregon, EE UU · CC BY 2.0
Quick answers

How Elk River began

When was Elk River founded?

1909

The Elk River post office opened in 1909, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Trumbull (1906), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 847 in 19202020 census: 139117 years
Founding year: the first Elk River post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Elk River’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 River are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Elk River’s homes were built before 1959.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Elk River’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story so far

Elk River, in brief

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

Elk River is a city in the northwestern United States in Clearwater County, Idaho. The population was 139 at the 2020 census, up from 125 in 2010. It is accessed from State Highway 8 from Bovill, to the west in adjacent Latah County. Formerly the site of a Potlatch sawmill, it was phased out after several decades during the 1930s.

Its first post office opened in 1909. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 125 to 139 (+11%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Elk River, 1906 to 1969

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1906Post officeThe Trumbull post office opens
  3. 1909Post officeThe Trumbull post office closes
  4. 1909Post officeThe Elk River post office opens
  5. 1969On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Elk River, decade by decade

Today18 recent
Elk River Beginnings, circa 1910 -closeup2014Elk River Beginnings, circa 1910 -closeupPostcardElk River Beginnings, circa 19102014Elk River Beginnings, circa 1910PostcardBusiness is Good, circa 19122014Business is Good, circa 1912PostcardBuilding Sidewalk, circa 19102014Building Sidewalk, circa 1910PostcardTown Startup, circa 19102013Town Startup, circa 1910PostcardThree Inch White Pine Lumber, 19112013Three Inch White Pine Lumber, 1911PostcardSorting Shed, Potlatch Lumber Company, circa 19102013Sorting Shed, Potlatch Lumber Company, circa 1910PostcardSome Lumber2013Some LumberPostcardSample of Idaho White Pine, 19112013Sample of Idaho White Pine, 1911PostcardPotlatch Lumber Company Mill, circa 19102013Potlatch Lumber Company Mill, circa 1910PostcardPack Horses and Mules, 19452013Pack Horses and Mules, 1945PostcardGrant and Giles Mercantile2013Grant and Giles MercantilePostcardElk Creek, 19142013Elk Creek, 1914PostcardElk Creek Falls, circa 19122013Elk Creek Falls, circa 1912PostcardBird's Eye View, circa 19152013Bird's Eye View, circa 1915PostcardBird's Eye View, circa 19122013Bird's Eye View, circa 1912PostcardElk River Streetscape Idaho 9-15-20112011Elk River Streetscape Idaho 9-15-2011IDMap-doton-ElkRiver2004IDMap-doton-ElkRiver
On the map

Elk River on the map, 1969 to 1994

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

Elk River on the 1969 USGS mapElk River on the 1984 USGS mapElk River on the 1994 USGS map1969Elk River sheet · 1:24,000

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

Every building

Elk River, building by building, 1914–1928

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

Elk River fire insurance map, 1914, sheet 21914Sheet 2 of 3
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

People over time

Elk River, census by census

0200400600800192019401960198020002020Peak: 862

Between 125 and 862 people in every census since 1920.

11 censuses, 1920–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Elk River’s Wikipedia page.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Elk River’s post office has been open since 1909. Another post office, Trumbull, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Trumbull
1906–1909
Elk River
1909–today
19001960today

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

Questions about Elk River’s history

What year was Elk River founded?

The Elk River post office opened in 1909, 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 (18), 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 Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.