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History · Elgin Township

Elgin Township’s post office opened in 1883

Most of Elgin Township was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1974. Below: maps from 1970 on and the census since 1920.

1883first post office
0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Elgin Township began

When was Elgin Township founded?

1883

The Elgin Township post office opened in 1883, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Elgin (1883), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 429 in 19202020 census: 200143 years
Founding year: the first Elgin Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Elgin 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 Elgin Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 944 in 1960; 543 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Elgin Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Elgin 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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People over time

Elgin Township, census by census

02004006008001,000192019401960198020002020Peak: 944

Peaked at 944 in 1960; 543 people lived here in 2020.

11 censuses, 1920–2020.

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

The story

How Elgin Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Elgin Township.

Read it all →

Elgin was platted in 1910 when the railroad was extended to that point. The town was originally known as Shanley, but when the Northern Pacific Railroad came through town, they objected to the name as it was too similar to Stanley (the seat of Mountrail County), so the citizens were asked to choose a new name. At one point, one committee member checked the time on his Elgin pocket watch and suggested the brand name, which was found to be acceptable. A post office has been in operation at Elgin since 1910.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Elgin Township, 1883 to 1970

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1883Post officeThe Elgin post office opens
  3. 1888Post officeThe Elgin post office closes
  4. 20th century
  5. 1960CensusPopulation peaks at 944
  6. 1970On 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.

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On the map

Elgin Township on the map, 1970 to 1985

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

Elgin Township on the 1970 USGS mapElgin Township on the 1985 USGS map1970Langdon West 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 Elgin Township.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Another post office, Elgin, opened and closed inside today’s town.

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.

Langdon2 historic placesB−Manilla TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWaterloo TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLangdon TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Elgin Township’s history

What year was Elgin Township founded?

The Elgin Township post office opened in 1883, 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 →
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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 Wikidata (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) and the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.