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BHistory
History · Elmhurst

Elmhurst was first counted by the census in 1870, and 15% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 58% of U.S. towns · #344 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it

6 places in town are on the National Register. Below: 23 old photos and papers, maps from 1891 on, and the census since 1870.

1870first census
6on the National Register
15%homes built before 1940
23old photos & papers
51famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Elmhurst’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Elmhurst began

When was Elmhurst founded?

1870

Elmhurst first appears in the census in 1870. Three smaller post offices, Cottage Hill (1845), Eldridge (1846) and Salt Creek (1874), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 329 in 18702020 census: 45,786156 years

How historic is Elmhurst?

B

More historic than 58% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first census.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Elmhurst’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Elmhurst is more historic than 58% of U.S. towns, #344 of 768 in Illinois. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Elmhurst’s overall grade.
Founding era1870, from the first census: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194014.7% of homes (±1.7) · typical IL town 10.6% · U.S. 8.4%BNational Register6 listings, 1.3 per 10,000 residents · typical IL town 0.5 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 58%
NewerOlder
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 55%

Few Illinois towns list much on the Register (a typical Illinois town has 0.5 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Elmhurst’s 1.3 sits near the middle of its state (64% of Illinois towns have fewer) while its 6 listings outnumber those of 72% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to B+. The pre-1940 share (±1.7 points) is firm at this size.

Founding year: the first census (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 →

What stands out about Elmhurst’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A town in old photos23 old photos, postcards and papers, 1880–1943.On the map since 18918 editions of the USGS map, 1891 to 1993. Watch Elmhurst change.Lost villages3 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Elmhurst, and 2 old place names are still on the map.Famous sons and daughtersFred Ramsdell, Jeff Hornacek and 49 more were born here.
★ What stands out · By decade

Elmhurst, decade by decade

4 decades in the archive, from the 1880s to the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1880s–1900s5 items
Elmhurst, Ill., Chicago & North-Western Ry. station1880Elmhurst, Ill., Chicago & North-Western Ry. stationChicago & North Western Railway station1880Chicago & North Western Railway stationChicago & North Western Railway station1880Chicago & North Western Railway stationElmhurst, Ill., C. & N.W. Ry. [Chicago and North Western Railway] Station1880Elmhurst, Ill., C. & N.W. Ry. [Chicago and North West…Postcard of Byrd's Nest in1908Postcard of Byrd's Nest inPostcard
1930s16 items
HABS ILL,22-ELM,1- (sheet 1 of 7) - Emery House, 218 Arlington Street1933HABS ILL,22-ELM,1- (sheet 1 of 7) - Emery House, 218 …HABS ILL,22-ELM,1- (sheet 1 of 7) - Emery House, 218 Arlington Street1933HABS ILL,22-ELM,1- (sheet 1 of 7) - Emery House, 218 …HABS ILL,22-ELM,1- (sheet 2 of 7) - Emery House, 218 Arlington Street1933HABS ILL,22-ELM,1- (sheet 2 of 7) - Emery House, 218 …HABS ILL,22-ELM,1- (sheet 2 of 7) - Emery House, 218 Arlington Street1933HABS ILL,22-ELM,1- (sheet 2 of 7) - Emery House, 218 …HABS ILL,22-ELM,1- (sheet 3 of 7) - Emery House, 218 Arlington Street1933HABS ILL,22-ELM,1- (sheet 3 of 7) - Emery House, 218 …HABS ILL,22-ELM,1- (sheet 3 of 7) - Emery House, 218 Arlington Street1933HABS ILL,22-ELM,1- (sheet 3 of 7) - Emery House, 218 …HABS ILL,22-ELM,1- (sheet 4 of 7) - Emery House, 218 Arlington Street1933HABS ILL,22-ELM,1- (sheet 4 of 7) - Emery House, 218 …HABS ILL,22-ELM,1- (sheet 4 of 7) - Emery House, 218 Arlington Street1933HABS ILL,22-ELM,1- (sheet 4 of 7) - Emery House, 218 …HABS ILL,22-ELM,1- (sheet 5 of 7) - Emery House, 218 Arlington Street1933HABS ILL,22-ELM,1- (sheet 5 of 7) - Emery House, 218 …HABS ILL,22-ELM,1- (sheet 5 of 7) - Emery House, 218 Arlington Street1933HABS ILL,22-ELM,1- (sheet 5 of 7) - Emery House, 218 …HABS ILL,22-ELM,1- (sheet 6 of 7) - Emery House, 218 Arlington Street1933HABS ILL,22-ELM,1- (sheet 6 of 7) - Emery House, 218 …HABS ILL,22-ELM,1- (sheet 6 of 7) - Emery House, 218 Arlington Street1933HABS ILL,22-ELM,1- (sheet 6 of 7) - Emery House, 218 …HABS ILL,22-ELM,1- (sheet 7 of 7) - Emery House, 218 Arlington Street1933HABS ILL,22-ELM,1- (sheet 7 of 7) - Emery House, 218 …HABS ILL,22-ELM,1- (sheet 7 of 7) - Emery House, 218 Arlington Street1933HABS ILL,22-ELM,1- (sheet 7 of 7) - Emery House, 218 …FIRST FLOOR, LIVING ROOM - F. B. Henderson House, 301 South Kenilworth Avenue1933FIRST FLOOR, LIVING ROOM - F. B. Henderson House, 301…Fisher's Touris Cabins, on Lake Street, US 20 Highway, One-Half mile west of York Road (NBY 3652)1938Fisher's Touris Cabins, on Lake Street, US 20 Highway…
1940s2 items
Freight train operations on the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad between Chicago and Clinton, Iowa. The train rounding…1943Freight train operations on the Chicago and Northwest…Freight train operations on the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad between Chicago and Clinton, Iowa. The train crew wat…1943Freight train operations on the Chicago and Northwest…
1950s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
On the map

Elmhurst on the map, 1891 to 1993

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

Elmhurst on the 1891 USGS mapElmhurst on the 1900 USGS mapElmhurst on the 1928 USGS mapElmhurst on the 1953 USGS mapElmhurst on the 1963 USGS mapElmhurst on the 1972 USGS mapElmhurst on the 1981 USGS mapElmhurst on the 1993 USGS map1891Riverside 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 Elmhurst.

Places that used to be

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

Elmhurst’s post office has been open since 1870. Three other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Cottage Hill
1845–1870
Eldridge
1846–1850
Elmhurst
1870–today
Salt Creek
1874–1895
18401930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
South ElmhurstYorkfield
Gone or out of use
Churchville SchoolschoolEldridge SchoolschoolElmhurst QuarrymineMadison SchoolschoolRoosevelt SchoolschoolWashington Schoolschool
6cemeteries and burying grounds inside Elmhurst
ArlingtonCollegeElm Lawn Memorial ParkGlosMount EmblemSaint Mary Cemetery and Cremation Columbarium

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

The story

How Elmhurst came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Elmhurst.

Read it all →

Members of the Potawatomi Native American people, who settled along Salt Creek just south of where the city would develop, are the earliest known settlers of the Elmhurst area. Around 1836, European-American immigrants settled on tracts of land along the same creek. At what would become Elmhurst City Centre, a native of Ohio named Gerry Bates established a community on a tract of "treeless land" in 1842.

The following year, Hill Cottage Tavern opened where St. Charles Road and Cottage Hill Avenue presently intersect. In 1845, the community was officially named Cottage Hill when a post office was established.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Elmhurst, 1845 to 1992

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1845Post officeThe Cottage Hill post office opens
  3. 1846Post officeThe Eldridge post office opens
  4. 1850Post officeThe Eldridge post office closes
  5. 1870Post officeThe Cottage Hill post office closes
  6. 1870Post officeThe Elmhurst post office opens
  7. 1880In the archiveElmhurst, Ill., Chicago & North-Western Ry. station
  8. 1891On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  9. 20th century
  10. 1908BuiltRobinwood is built
  11. 1908In the archivePostcard of Byrd's Nest in
  12. 1933In the archiveHABS ILL,22-ELM,1- (sheet 1 of 7) - Emery House, 218 Arlington Street
  13. 1943In the archiveFreight train operations on the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad between Chicago and Cli…
  14. 1943Born hereCatherine Coulson is born here
  15. 1960Born hereFred Ramsdell is born here
  16. 1963Born hereJeff Hornacek is born here
  17. 1992Born hereKelsey Robinson is born here
Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Elmhurst, Ill., Chicago & North-Western Ry. station
Retake this viewElmhurst, Ill., Chicago & North-Western Ry. station, 1880

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Elmhurst’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

6 historic places in Elmhurst

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

places listed
6
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
6
each building in a district counts
first listed
1976
Hauptgebaude
HauptgebaudeFrank B. Henderson HouseJohn L. Pentecost HouseRobinwood, built 1908Emery, Jr., William H., HouseWilliam and Jennette Sloane House
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Prairie School2
Late 19th and Early 20th Century American Movement2
German Gothic1
English Cottage Revival1
HauptgebaudeGerman Gothic
Frank B. Henderson HousePrairie School
John L. Pentecost HouseLate 19th and Early 20th Century American Movement
RobinwoodLate 19th and Early 20th Century American Movement · Built 1908
Emery, Jr., William H., HousePrairie School
William and Jennette Sloane HouseBuilding

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

People over time

Elmhurst, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,00030,00035,00040,00045,00050,00018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 46,392

Between 329 and 46,392 people in every census since 1870.

16 censuses, 1870–2020.

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

Famous people

51 famous people were born in Elmhurst

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

See all →
Fred RamsdellAmerican immunologist · b. 1960
Jeff HornacekAmerican basketball player and coach · b. 1963
Kelsey RobinsonAmerican volleyball player and beach volleyball… · b. 1992
C
Catherine CoulsonAmerican actress · b. 1943
S
Senta MosesActress · b. 1973
Larry StefankiAmerican tennis player and coach · b. 1957
Help out

Finish Elmhurst’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
3 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewElmhurst, Ill., Chicago & North-Western…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Villa Park2 historic placesB−Oakbrook TerraceIts storyD−AddisonIts storyCYork Township13 historic placesB+Proviso Township20 historic placesA−BerkeleyIts storyC+NorthlakeIts storyDOak Brook4 historic placesC−

Questions about Elmhurst’s history

What year was Elmhurst founded?

The Elmhurst post office opened in 1870, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1882.

How does Elmhurst rank for history?

Elmhurst is more historic than 58% of U.S. towns, #344 of 768 in Illinois. 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.

What is on the National Register in Elmhurst?

6 listings: 6 buildings, among them the Hauptgebaude (listed 1976, the first).

How old are the homes in Elmhurst?

15% of Elmhurst’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.7 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1966.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (17), the Library of Congress (6), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (6), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), 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.