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C−History
History · South Elgin

South Elgin’s post office opened in 1876

More historic than 18% of U.S. towns · #648 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it

Most of South Elgin was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1997. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1949 on, and the census since 1890.

1876first post office
0on the National Register
3%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From South Elgin’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How South Elgin began

When was South Elgin founded?

1876

The South Elgin post office opened in 1876, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Clintonville (1851) and Youngsdale (1890), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 505 in 18902020 census: 23,865150 years

How historic is South Elgin?

C−

More historic than 18% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first South Elgin post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade

What drives South Elgin’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, South Elgin is more historic than 18% of U.S. towns, #648 of 768 in Illinois. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of South Elgin’s overall grade.
Founding era1876, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19402.6% of homes (±2.1) · typical IL town 10.6% · U.S. 8.4%C−National RegisterNo listings counted · typical IL town 0.5 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 18%
NewerOlder
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 16%

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 South Elgin’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (28% of Illinois towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to C−. The pre-1940 share (±2.1 points) is firm at this size. 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 South Elgin’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s South Elgin, and 1 old place names are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start South Elgin’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how South Elgin’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old view19680714 15 Fox River Bus Lines @: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and places now gone

South Elgin’s post office has been open since 1876. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Clintonville
1851–1876
South Elgin
1876–today
Youngsdale
1890–1905
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Youngsdale
Gone or out of use
Fox River QuarrymineHopp Schoolschool

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

The story

How South Elgin came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of South Elgin.

Read it all →

South Elgin was originally called "Clintonville", in honor of early settler James Clinton. The name "South Elgin" was adopted in 1897.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

South Elgin, 1851 to 2006

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1851Post officeThe Clintonville post office opens
  3. 1876Post officeThe Clintonville post office closes
  4. 1876Post officeThe South Elgin post office opens
  5. 1890Post officeThe Youngsdale post office opens
  6. 20th century
  7. 1905Post officeThe Youngsdale post office closes
  8. 1949On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  9. 1968In the archive19680714 15 Fox River Bus Lines @
  10. 21st century
  11. 2006Born hereBen Davino is born here
By decade

South Elgin, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1960s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1960s1 item
19680714 15 Fox River Bus Lines @196819680714 15 Fox River Bus Lines @
1970s–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
Today8 recent
State St bridge crossing the Fox River - South Elgin, IL - November 20252025State St bridge crossing the Fox River - South Elgin,…State St Bridge - South Elgin, IL - November 20252025State St Bridge - South Elgin, IL - November 2025South Elgin Village Hall - South Elgin, IL - November 20252025South Elgin Village Hall - South Elgin, IL - November…South Elgin Police station - South Elgin, IL - November 20252025South Elgin Police station - South Elgin, IL - Novemb…Hairpin turn at Fox River Trail - South Elgin, IL - November 20252025Hairpin turn at Fox River Trail - South Elgin, IL - N…Fox River Trail approaching hairpin turn - South Elgin, IL - November 20252025Fox River Trail approaching hairpin turn - South Elgi…Iglesia Apostólica Filadelfia2023Iglesia Apostólica FiladelfiaKenyon Woods Middle School2006Kenyon Woods Middle School
On the map

South Elgin on the map, 1949 to 1993

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

South Elgin on the 1949 USGS mapSouth Elgin on the 1964 USGS mapSouth Elgin on the 1972 USGS mapSouth Elgin on the 1980 USGS mapSouth Elgin on the 1993 USGS map1949Geneva 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 South Elgin.

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.

19680714 15 Fox River Bus Lines @
Retake this view19680714 15 Fox River Bus Lines @, 1968

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

South Elgin, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,000190019201940196019802000202023,865

Grew from 505 people in 1890 to 23,865 in 2020, more than tenfold.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Elgin12 historic placesAElgin Township11 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townSt. Charles Township10 historic placesB+BartlettIts storyC−

Questions about South Elgin’s history

What year was South Elgin founded?

The South Elgin post office opened in 1876, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does South Elgin rank for history?

South Elgin is more historic than 18% of U.S. towns, #648 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.

How old are the homes in South Elgin?

3% of South Elgin’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.1 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1997.

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 (9), 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.