The story
Read it all →How Elkhart Township came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Elkhart Township.
Elkhart Township was established in the 1860s. The name is a transfer from Elkhart, Indiana.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
–Not graded
History · Elkhart Township
Elkhart Township’s post office opened in 1873, and 11% of its homes were built before 1940
Below: maps from 1887 on.
1873first post office
0on the National Register
11%homes built before 1940
Quick answers
How Elkhart Township began
When was Elkhart Township founded?
1873
The Elkhart Township post office opened in 1873, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Elkhart (1873), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
2020 census: 307153 years
Founding year: the first Elkhart Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
What stands out about Elkhart 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 Elkhart Township’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Elkhart Township’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.On the map
Elkhart Township on the map, 1887 to 1981
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Elkhart Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1887Butler sheet · 1:125,000U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Elkhart Township.
Timeline
Elkhart Township, 1873 to 1887
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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 albumFamous people
See all →Famous people close to Elkhart Township
Nobody well known was born in Elkhart 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, Elkhart, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Gone or out of use
Concord SchoolschoolFairview SchoolschoolLone Star SchoolschoolSilverdale Schoolschool
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Elkhart Township
HowellScott
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.
Charlotte TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMound TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWest Point TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townEast Boone TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townDeer Creek TownshipIts storyB−
Questions about Elkhart Township’s history
What year was Elkhart Township founded?
The Elkhart Township post office opened in 1873, 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.