Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Elkton

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
–Not graded
History · Elkton

Elkton’s post office opened in 1886, and 18% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1901 on, and the census since 1900.

1886first post office
0on the National Register
18%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Elkton began

When was Elkton founded?

1886

The Elkton post office opened in 1886, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 471 in 19002020 census: 796140 years
Founding year: the first Elkton post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Elkton’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.Mapped building by building3 fire insurance maps, 1901 to 1924, drew every building in Elkton.Old housesHalf of Elkton’s homes were built before 1959.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Elkton’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Every building

Elkton, building by building, 1901–1924

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

Elkton fire insurance map, 1901, sheet 11901Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

The story so far

Elkton, in brief

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

Elkton is a village in Huron County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 796 at the 2020 census. The village is within Oliver Township, along the Pinnebog River. It was incorporated in 1897.

Its first post office opened in 1886. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 808 in 2010, 796 in 2020.

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

By decade

Elkton, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s1 item
Map of Elkton, Michigan (1904)1904Map of Elkton, Michigan (1904)Map
1910s–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
Today2 recent
Elkton, MI location2019Elkton, MI locationMIMap-doton-Elkton2005MIMap-doton-Elkton
On the map

Elkton on the map, 1970 to 1984

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

Elkton on the 1970 USGS mapElkton on the 1984 USGS map1970Elkton 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 Elkton.

People over time

Elkton, census by census

02004006008001,0001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,014

Between 471 and 1,014 people in every census since 1900.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Elkton

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

See all →
Brewster H. ShawAmerican astronaut · b. 1945
James BrookerAmerican pole vaulter · b. 1902
Helen Thompson GaigeAmerican herpetologist · b. 1890
Larry MacPhailAmerican lawyer · b. 1890
David C. ClarkAmerican politician · b. 1926
Howard NugentAmerican politician · b. 1879

Questions about Elkton’s history

What year was Elkton founded?

The Elkton post office opened in 1886, 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 →
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 (3), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.