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History · Elgin

Elgin dates to 1869, and 46% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Cedar Creek Bridge. Below: the census since 1880.

1869founded
1on the National Register
46%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Elgin began

When was Elgin founded?

1869

Elgin dates its founding to 1869 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 55 in 18802020 census: 60157 years
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year.The full story ↓

What stands out about 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 writtenNo old photos of Elgin are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 600 in 1920; 60 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of Elgin’s homes were built before 1947.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Elgin’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Elgin’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
People over time

Elgin, census by census

010020030040050060018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 600

Peaked at 600 in 1920; 60 people lived here in 2020.

12 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

The story

How Elgin came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Elgin.

Read it all →

Elgin was founded in 1869. It was once a stop on the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe railroad and one of the world's busiest cattle shipping towns. L. P. Getman established the first store in the county, at Elgin, and John Lee, William Gamble and Beadle Welsh started the first saw mill at the same place, which they brought from Wisconsin in 1870. After the decline of the cattle shipping business, it was sustained by an oil boom that lasted until the mid-1920s.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Elgin, 1869 to 1927

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1869
    FoundingElgin is established
  3. 20th century
  4. 1920Born hereLouis F. Burns is born here
  5. 1920CensusPopulation peaks at 600
  6. 1927BuiltCedar Creek Bridge is built
By decade

Elgin, decade by decade

Today1 recent
Map of Chautauqua Co, Ks, USA2005Map of Chautauqua Co, Ks, USAMap
On the National Register

1 historic place in Elgin

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
1983
Cedar Creek Bridge
Sites
Cedar Creek BridgeBuilt 1927

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

Questions about Elgin’s history

What year was Elgin founded?

In 1869, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. the census of 1880 counted 55 people here.

What is on the National Register in Elgin?

One place: the Cedar Creek Bridge (listed 1983).

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 (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.