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Elm Creek, Nebraska with train 3Photo: Ammodramus · Public domain
–Not graded
History · Elm Creek

Elm Creek dates to 1866, and 27% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1896 on, and the census since 1890.

1866founded
0on the National Register
27%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Elm Creek’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Elm Creek began

When was Elm Creek founded?

1866

Elm Creek dates its founding to 1866 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1890.

First census: 357 in 18902020 census: 979160 years
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1872.The full story ↓

What stands out about Elm Creek’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18963 editions of the USGS map, 1896 to 1985. Watch Elm Creek change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Elm Creek’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewNebraska - Benedict through Grant: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Elm Creek on the map, 1896 to 1985

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

Elm Creek on the 1896 USGS mapElm Creek on the 1962 USGS mapElm Creek on the 1985 USGS map1896Kearney sheet · 1:125,000

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

The story

How Elm Creek came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Elm Creek.

Read it all →

Elm Creek was founded in 1866 with the arrival of the Union Pacific Railroad to Buffalo County. Prior the construction of a railway station in Elm Creek, the area was heavily timbered with ash, elm, and cottonwood trees but they were almost all removed for use in building the railroad. The village was incorporated in 1887. The construction spurred the development of the wood-frame business, but much of it was destroyed in a fire in 1906; stone was used afterwards to rebuild. A contest for renaming the settlement, in hopes that the new name would bring prosperity, was held in 1912, but the prize was never awarded and the name remained unchanged.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Elm Creek, 1866 to 1988

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1866
    FoundingElm Creek is established
  3. 1872Post officeThe Elm Creek post office opens
  4. 1896On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 20th century
  6. 1917In the archiveNebraska - Benedict through Grant
  7. 1988Born hereMason Brodine is born here
By decade

Elm Creek, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1910s2 items
Nebraska - Benedict through Grant1917Nebraska - Benedict through GrantNebraska - Benedict through Grant1917Nebraska - Benedict through Grant
1920s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today10 recent
Elm Creek, Nebraska with train 42010Elm Creek, Nebraska with train 4Elm Creek, Nebraska with train 32010Elm Creek, Nebraska with train 3Elm Creek, Nebraska with train 22010Elm Creek, Nebraska with train 2Elm Creek, Nebraska with train 12010Elm Creek, Nebraska with train 1Elm Creek, Nebraska downtown trackside2010Elm Creek, Nebraska downtown tracksideElm Creek, Nebraska down US30 32010Elm Creek, Nebraska down US30 3Elm Creek, Nebraska down US30 22010Elm Creek, Nebraska down US30 2Elm Creek, Nebraska down US30 12010Elm Creek, Nebraska down US30 1Elm Creek, Nebraska alfalfa plant2010Elm Creek, Nebraska alfalfa plantNEMap-doton-Elm Creek2005NEMap-doton-Elm Creek
Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Nebraska - Benedict through Grant
Retake this viewNebraska - Benedict through Grant, 1917

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Elm Creek’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Elm Creek, census by census

02004006008001,0001900192019401960198020002020979

Grew from 357 people in 1890 to 979 in 2020.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

Questions about Elm Creek’s history

What year was Elm Creek founded?

In 1866, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Elm Creek’s post office opened in 1872, and the census of 1890 counted 357 people here.

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 Wikimedia Commons (12), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), 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.