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History · Elm Township

Elm Township’s post office opened in 1904, and 25% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1980 on.

1904first post office
0on the National Register
25%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Elm Township began

When was Elm Township founded?

1904

The Elm Township post office opened in 1904, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Elm (1904) and Heil (1911), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 58122 years
Founding year: the first Elm Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Elm 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 Elm Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Elm Township, and 1 old place names are still on the map.Old housesHalf of Elm Township’s homes were built before 1945.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Elm Township’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Elm
1904–1911
Heil
1911–1981
19001960today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Heil
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Elm Township
PeacePrairie View

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

The story so far

Elm Township, in brief

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

Its first post office opened in 1904. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 46 to 58 (+26%).

Timeline

Elm Township, 1904 to 1981

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1904Post officeThe Elm post office opens
  3. 1911Post officeThe Elm post office closes
  4. 1911Post officeThe Heil post office opens
  5. 1980On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1981Post officeThe Heil post office closes
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 album
On the map

Elm Township on the map in 1980

The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Elm Township.

Elm Township on the 1980 USGS map1980Heil 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 Elm Township.

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Minnie TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townRock TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Elm Township’s history

What year was Elm Township founded?

The Elm Township post office opened in 1904, 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 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.