The story
Read it all →How Elmore came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Elmore.
A post office called Elmore has been in operation since 1863. The city was named for Andrew E. Elmore, an early settler.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
–Not graded
History · Elmore
Elmore’s post office opened in 1863, and 26% of its homes were built before 1940
Below: maps from 1899 on and the census since 1890.
1863first post office
0on the National Register
26%homes built before 1940
Quick answers
How Elmore began
When was Elmore founded?
1863
The Elmore post office opened in 1863, the earliest record of the town by name.
First census: 488 in 18902020 census: 549163 years
Founding year: the first Elmore post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
What stands out about Elmore’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 Elmore are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 1,078 in 1960; 549 people lived here in 2020.Mapped building by building3 fire insurance maps, 1899 to 1914, drew every building in Elmore.Old housesHalf of Elmore’s homes were built before 1955.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Elmore’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Elmore’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.People over time
Elmore, census by census
Peaked at 1,078 in 1960; 549 people lived here in 2020.
14 censuses, 1890–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Elmore’s Wikipedia page.
Every building
Elmore, building by building, 1899–1914
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.
1899Sheet 1 of 2Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Elmore in 1896
Passages that mention Elmore, cut from the printed page as they were published.
The history of Faribault County, Minnesota1896 · page 614Read the page →
Read the text
An act was passed by the State Legislature in 1868. to provide for the payment of certain taxes by the town of Grant, in Faribault county, which enacted that the said town "which was detached from the town of Elmore * * shall be and is hereby declared to be liable to pay the same proportion of the tax thereafter necessary to be levied for the payment of the bounties offered by the said town to the volunteers of the late war. as would have been the case had the said town of Grant remained without a separate and
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The history of Faribault County, Minnesota1896 · page 361Read the page →
Read the text
were some narrow escapes. Two little girls of Mr. Everson, living in Pilot Grove township who were absent at a neighbor's when the storm commenced, started for home, and nearly perished on the way. A school in the town of Elmore was compelled to remain in the school house for two days and a night, and doubtless other schools had the same experience. Many families were upon short allowances for fuel and perhaps for food, but as the weather was not remarkably cold, they managed to weather it through.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Elmore, 1863 to 1960
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1863Post officeThe Elmore post office opens
- 20th century
- 1954
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey - 1960CensusPopulation peaks at 1,078
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
Elmore on the map, 1954 to 1967
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Elmore. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1954Fairmont sheet · 1:250,000U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Elmore.
Famous people
See all →Famous people close to Elmore
Nobody well known was born in Elmore itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Places that used to be
Places now gone
Elmore’s post office has been open since 1863.
Gone or out of use
Elmorelocale
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.
Questions about Elmore’s history
What year was Elmore founded?
The Elmore post office opened in 1863, 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, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.