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History · Elkader Township

Elkader Township’s post office opened in 1887

Below: maps from 1972 on.

1887first post office
0on the National Register
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Quick answers

How Elkader Township began

When was Elkader Township founded?

1887

The Elkader Township post office opened in 1887, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Elkader (1887), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 15139 years
Founding year: the first Elkader Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Elkader 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 Elkader Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
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Start Elkader Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Elkader Township’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story so far

Elkader Township, in brief

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

Elkader Township is a township in Logan County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population was 15.

Its first post office opened in 1887. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 8 to 15 (+88%).

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

Timeline

Elkader Township, 1887 to 1972

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1887Post officeThe Elkader post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1948Post officeThe Elkader post office closes
  5. 1972On 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.
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On the map

Elkader Township on the map, 1972 to 1985

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

Elkader Township on the 1972 USGS mapElkader Township on the 1985 USGS map1972Elkader NW 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 Elkader Township.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices and old corners

Another post office, Elkader, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Elkader

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Lewis TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLogansport Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLees TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townGaeland Township2 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townOakley Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Elkader Township’s history

What year was Elkader Township founded?

The Elkader Township post office opened in 1887, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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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 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.