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History · Elma Township

26% of Elma Township’s homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1917 on.

0on the National Register
26%homes built before 1940
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What stands out about Elma 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 Elma Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
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Start Elma Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Elma 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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The story so far

Elma Township, in brief

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

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 78 to 80 (+3%).

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.
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On the map

Elma Township on the map, 1917 to 1972

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

Elma Township on the 1917 USGS mapElma Township on the 1972 USGS map1917New Effington sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Elma Township.

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Greendale TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townDuerr TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBrightwood TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWaldo TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Elma Township’s history

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 U.S. Geological Survey historical maps. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.