Founding year: the first Elmwood post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Elmwood’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Elmwood is more historic than 91% of U.S. towns. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Elmwood’s overall grade.
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 Elmwood’s 4.3 sits above most of its state (74% of Illinois towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A− to A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±9.9 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (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 Elmwood’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
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.
1885Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone
Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
The settlement was named after a community of elm trees near the mansion of William J. Phelps, who was among the first settlers to arrive in the area in 1834. Phelps was the first postmaster and owned a barn that was part of the Underground Railroad. The town was platted in 1852 and officially founded two years later.
On the night of June 5, 2010, an elephant trunk tornado touched down in Elmwood, destroying city hall and other area buildings, bringing down limbs and power lines, and damaging the roof of a theater. Although Elmwood suffered a great deal from the tornado, many town businesses eventually re-opened.
Passages that mention Elmwood, cut from the printed page as they were published.
The History of Peoria County, Illinois. Containing a history of the Northwest--history of Illinois--history of the county, its early settlement, growth, development, resources, etc., etc. ..1880 · page 751Read the page →
Read the text
VANDERVOORT J. A. retired merchant, res. Elmwood. Emigrated from Bellville, Canada, to the town of Elmwood when there was but two business houses in it, and engaged in the grocer's business, in the building opposite the Elmwood house. Style of firm. Jones & Vandervoort. Both families were compelled to live over the store as there was not a house for rent in the town. In the year l86l or 1862, he
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The History of Peoria County, Illinois. Containing a history of the Northwest--history of Illinois--history of the county, its early settlement, growth, development, resources, etc., etc. ..1880Read the page →
Read the text
TR.VCY, T. H. & CO. In the Fall of 1853, Mr. Tracy came to the beautiful town of Elmwood and built what is known as No. I Lincoln Ulock, a two-story brick — the first brick in the town— and engaged in the dry goods business. There are certain leading features in the business interest of all communities, and certain elements that lead to pros|<erily and success, and fill wants and requirements of the general
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.
Timeline
Elmwood, 1835 to 1944
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
The Elmwood post office opened in 1844, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Elmwood rank for history?
Elmwood is more historic than 91% 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.
What is on the National Register in Elmwood?
One place: the Pioneers, The (listed 2001).
How old are the homes in Elmwood?
50% of Elmwood’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±9.9 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1938.
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 (4), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) 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.
2014
2014
2012
