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History · Elgin

Elgin’s post office opened in 1884, and 21% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1963 on and the census since 1900.

1884first post office
0on the National Register
21%homes built before 1940
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Photo: Ammodramus · Public domain
Quick answers

How Elgin began

When was Elgin founded?

1884

The Elgin post office opened in 1884, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 451 in 19002020 census: 717142 years
Founding year: the first Elgin post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Elgin’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 are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Elgin’s homes were built before 1962.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Elgin’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Elgin’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
The story

How Elgin came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Elgin.

Read it all →

Elgin was platted in 1887 when the railroad was extended to that point. Its name was chosen at random from a postal directory, after the city of Elgin, Illinois.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Elgin in 1909

Passages that mention Elgin, cut from the printed page as they were published.

no HISTORY OF ANTELOPE COUNTY just a half-mile south of the present village of Elgin. Time has vindicated his decisiom. His brother Jesse was provoked and called him a lunatic and named the neighborhood where he located "Luna Valley." This name it retained for several years.
A history of Antelope County, Nebraska, from its first settlement in 1868 to the close of the year 18831909 · page 110Read the page →
Read the text

no HISTORY OF ANTELOPE COUNTY just a half-mile south of the present village of Elgin. Time has vindicated his decisiom. His brother Jesse was provoked and called him a lunatic and named the neighborhood where he located "Luna Valley." This name it retained for several years.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
of the present site of Elgin. The valley of Willow Creek was settled in the fall of 1872 , and during the year a number of new settlers located on Bazile Creek. The Elkhorn valley continued to fill up, especially in the western part, and the settlements both north and south of the main valley conti…
A history of Antelope County, Nebraska, from its first settlement in 1868 to the close of the year 18831909 · page 53Read the page →
Read the text

of the present site of Elgin. The valley of Willow Creek was settled in the fall of 1872 , and during the year a number of new settlers located on Bazile Creek. The Elkhorn valley continued to fill up, especially in the western part, and the settlements both north and south of the main valley continued to expand.

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.

By decade

Elgin, decade by decade

Today8 recent
Elgin, Nebraska water tower from W 12013Elgin, Nebraska water tower from W 1Elgin, Nebraska 2nd x Pine NE corner2013Elgin, Nebraska 2nd x Pine NE cornerElgin, Nebraska 2nd x Cedar NE corner2013Elgin, Nebraska 2nd x Cedar NE cornerElgin, Nebraska 2nd from Maple 12013Elgin, Nebraska 2nd from Maple 1Elgin, Nebraska 2nd from Cedar 12013Elgin, Nebraska 2nd from Cedar 1Elgin, Nebraska downtown 22010Elgin, Nebraska downtown 2Elgin, Nebraska downtown 12010Elgin, Nebraska downtown 1NEMap-doton-Elgin2005NEMap-doton-Elgin
On the map

Elgin on the map, 1963 to 1985

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

Elgin on the 1963 USGS mapElgin on the 1985 USGS map1963Elgin 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.

People over time

Elgin, census by census

02004006008001,0001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 917

Between 451 and 917 people in every census since 1900.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Places now gone

Elgin’s post office has been open since 1884.

Gone or out of use
Elginlocale

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

Questions about Elgin’s history

What year was Elgin founded?

The Elgin post office opened in 1884, 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 Wikimedia Commons (8), 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 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.