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Joseph Steffens HouseJoseph Steffens House · Photo: Jon Roanhaus · CC BY-SA 3.0
–Not graded
History · Elkhorn Grove Township

Elkhorn Grove Township’s post office opened in 1837, and 84% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Joseph Steffens House. Below: maps from 1946 on.

1837first post office
1on the National Register
84%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Elkhorn Grove Township began

When was Elkhorn Grove Township founded?

1837

The Elkhorn Grove Township post office opened in 1837, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Elkhorn Grove (1837) and Hitt (1884), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 197189 years
Founding year: the first Elkhorn Grove Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Elkhorn Grove Township’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 Elkhorn Grove Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Elkhorn Grove Township, and 4 old place names are still on the map.Old housesHalf of Elkhorn Grove Township’s homes were built before 1938.Deep rootsA post office since 1837: 189 years of Elkhorn Grove Township.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Elkhorn Grove Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Elkhorn Grove Township’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
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Elkhorn Grove
1837–1900
Hitt
1884–1900
18301930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Elkhorn GroveHazelhurstHittSouth Elkhorn
Gone or out of use
Eller QuarrymineHitt SchoolschoolPaynter SchoolschoolStewart Schoolschool
1cemetery inside Elkhorn Grove Township
South Elkhorn

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

The story so far

Elkhorn Grove Township, in brief

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

Elkhorn Grove Township is one of twelve townships in Carroll County, Illinois, USA. As of the 2020 census, its population was 197 and it contained 89 housing units.

Its first post office opened in 1837. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 229 to 197 (-14%).

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

Timeline

Elkhorn Grove Township, 1837 to 1946

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1837Post officeThe Elkhorn Grove post office opens
  3. 1843BuiltJoseph Steffens House is built
  4. 1884Post officeThe Hitt post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1900Post officeThe Elkhorn Grove post office closes
  7. 1900Post officeThe Hitt post office closes
  8. 1946On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
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

Elkhorn Grove Township on the map, 1946 to 1983

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

Elkhorn Grove Township on the 1946 USGS mapElkhorn Grove Township on the 1983 USGS map1946Sterling 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 Elkhorn Grove Township.

On the National Register

1 historic place in Elkhorn Grove Township

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
1985
Joseph Steffens House
Joseph Steffens House, built 1843
Buildings
Joseph Steffens HouseBuilt 1843

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Wysox TownshipIts storyB+Eagle Point TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townRock Creek-Lima Township1 historic placeA+Jordan TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Elkhorn Grove Township’s history

What year was Elkhorn Grove Township founded?

The Elkhorn Grove Township post office opened in 1837, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Elkhorn Grove Township?

One place: the Joseph Steffens House (listed 1985).

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 Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.