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Alcove Spring (Boundary Increase)Alcove Spring (Boundary Increase) · Photo: PowercatPark · CC BY-SA 4.0
–Not graded
History · Elm Creek Township

Elm Creek Township’s post office opened in 1874, and 80% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Alcove Springs and the Alcove Spring. Below: maps from 1889 on.

1874first post office
1on the National Register
80%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Elm Creek Township began

When was Elm Creek Township founded?

1874

The Elm Creek Township post office opened in 1874, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Elm Creek (1874) and Schroyer (1889), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 150152 years
Founding year: the first Elm Creek Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Elm Creek 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 Elm Creek Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18894 editions of the USGS map, 1889 to 1983. Watch Elm Creek Township change.Old housesHalf of Elm Creek Township’s homes were built before 1938.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Elm Creek Township, and 2 old place names are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Elm Creek Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Elm Creek Township’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
On the map

Elm Creek Township on the map, 1889 to 1983

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

Elm Creek Township on the 1889 USGS mapElm Creek Township on the 1894 USGS mapElm Creek Township on the 1966 USGS mapElm Creek Township on the 1983 USGS map1889Marysville sheet · 1:125,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Elm Creek Township.

The story so far

Elm Creek Township, in brief

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

Elm Creek Township is a township in Marshall County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population was 150.

Its first post office opened in 1874. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 180 to 150 (-17%).

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

Timeline

Elm Creek Township, 1874 to 1918

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1874Post officeThe Elm Creek post office opens
  3. 1889Post officeThe Schroyer post office opens
  4. 1889On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1893Post officeThe Elm Creek post office closes
  6. 20th century
  7. 1918Post officeThe Schroyer post office closes
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 National Register

1 historic place in Elm Creek Township

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. Boundary changes and added documentation are counted with their listing.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1972
Alcove Springs
Alcove SpringsAlcove Spring
Sites
Alcove SpringsSite
Alcove SpringSite

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Elm Creek Township

Nobody well known was born in Elm Creek Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
MoondogAmerican composer · b. 1916
Michael McClureAmerican writer · b. 1932
R
Ralph Nelson ElliottAmerican accountant · b. 1871
Kenneth W. DamUnited States Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Trea… · b. 1932
Brian DuensingMajor League Baseball pitcher · b. 1983
K
Kendra WeckerAmerican basketball player · b. 1982
Places that used to be

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

Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Elm Creek
1874–1893
Schroyer
1889–1918
18701950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Alcove SpringShroyer
Gone or out of use
Elm CreeklocalePalmettolocale
1cemetery inside Elm Creek Township
Elm Creek

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.

Walnut TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMarysville Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townCenter TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBlue Rapids City Township1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Elm Creek Township’s history

What year was Elm Creek Township founded?

The Elm Creek Township post office opened in 1874, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Elm Creek Township?

1 listings: 2 sites.

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 the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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.