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History · Elsmore Township

Elsmore Township dates to 1888, and 47% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1886 on and the census since 1910.

1888founded
0on the National Register
47%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Elsmore Township began

When was Elsmore Township founded?

1888

Elsmore Township dates its founding to 1888 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1910.

First census: 216 in 19102020 census: 363138 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1866.The full story ↓

What stands out about Elsmore 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 Elsmore Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18866 editions of the USGS map, 1886 to 1990. Watch Elsmore Township change.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Elsmore Township.Old housesHalf of Elsmore Township’s homes were built before 1948.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Elsmore Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Elsmore 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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On the map

Elsmore Township on the map, 1886 to 1990

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

Elsmore Township on the 1886 USGS mapElsmore Township on the 1893 USGS mapElsmore Township on the 1904 USGS mapElsmore Township on the 1966 USGS mapElsmore Township on the 1985 USGS mapElsmore Township on the 1990 USGS map1886Iola 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 Elsmore Township.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, places now gone and burying grounds

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

Rocklow
1877–1886
Wannersburg
1880–1891
18701950today
Gone or out of use
East Liberty SchoolschoolEast Union SchoolschoolMoline SchoolschoolMount Pleasant ChurchchurchMount Pleasant SchoolschoolOld Elsmore SchoolschoolRocklow SchoolschoolWannersburg SchoolschoolWarnnersburglocale
4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Elsmore Township
ElsmoreHarmonyOld ElsmoreSwedish

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

The story

How Elsmore Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Elsmore Township.

Read it all →

The old town of Elsmore, which for several years was the center of attraction for the citizens of Elsmore Township, was located farther west, not far from Big Creek. On August 25, 1888, after the route of the Missouri, Kansas & Texas R.R. from Kansas City to Parsons had been definitely settled, N.L. Ard, J.L. Roberts, J.A. Nicholson, W.D. and H.W. Cox, and O.P. Mattson purchased 20 acres (81,000 m2) where the present town of Elsmore stands, and platted the town. It soon became a popular trading center and shipping point for that section of the county, and in 1909 was incorporated. In 1910 it reported a population of 216 and had a money order post office (first opened in November 1866) with two rural delivery routes, a bank, several good stores, some small manufacturing enterprises, telegraph and express facilities.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Elsmore Township, 1877 to 1891

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1877Post officeThe Rocklow post office opens
  3. 1880Post officeThe Wannersburg post office opens
  4. 1886Post officeThe Rocklow post office closes
  5. 1886On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1888
    FoundingElsmore Township is established
  7. 1891Post officeThe Wannersburg post office closes
By decade

Elsmore Township, decade by decade

Today1 recent
1945vs2015map20151945vs2015map
People over time

Elsmore Township, census by census

0100200192019401960198020002020Peak: 237

Between 50 and 237 people in every census since 1910.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Marion TownshipIts storyB−Grant TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMarmaton TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townSalem TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townCottage Grove TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Elsmore Township’s history

What year was Elsmore Township founded?

In 1888, according to Wikidata. Elsmore Township’s post office opened in 1866, and the census of 1910 counted 216 people here.

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 Wikimedia Commons (1), Wikipedia, 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.