The story
Read it all →How Elk Lake Township came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Elk Lake Township.
Elk Lake Township was organized in 1876, and named after the Elk Lake within its borders.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
–Not graded
History · Elk Lake Township
Elk Lake Township’s post office opened in 1877, and 22% of its homes were built before 1940
Below: maps from 1911 on.
1877first post office
0on the National Register
22%homes built before 1940
Quick answers
How Elk Lake Township began
When was Elk Lake Township founded?
1877
The Elk Lake Township post office opened in 1877, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Elk Lake (1877), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 278149 years
Founding year: the first Elk Lake Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
What stands out about Elk Lake Township’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Elk Lake Township’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Elk Lake Township’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.Timeline
Elk Lake Township, 1877 to 1911
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1877Post officeThe Elk Lake post office opens
- 1892Post officeThe Elk Lake post office closes
- 20th century
- 1911
On 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.
Add from your albumOn the map
Elk Lake Township on the map, 1911 to 1973
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Elk Lake Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1911Barrett sheet · 1:62,500U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Elk Lake Township.
Famous people
See all →Famous people close to Elk Lake Township
Nobody well known was born in Elk Lake Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Places that used to be
Lost post offices, places now gone and burying grounds
Another post office, Elk Lake, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Gone or out of use
School Number 1schoolSchool Number 32schoolSchool Number 35schoolSchool Number 47schoolSchool Number 52school
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Elk Lake Township
LincolnOld Lincoln
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.
Barrett2 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townUrness TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLien TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLand TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townErdahl TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town
Questions about Elk Lake Township’s history
What year was Elk Lake Township founded?
The Elk Lake Township post office opened in 1877, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 Wikipedia, 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.