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History · Elsie

Elsie’s post office opened in 1887, and 31% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1973 on and the census since 1920.

1887first post office
0on the National Register
31%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Elsie began

When was Elsie founded?

1887

The Elsie post office opened in 1887, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 201 in 19202020 census: 102139 years
Founding year: the first Elsie post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Elsie’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 Elsie are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 262 in 1930; 102 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of Elsie’s homes were built before 1951.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Elsie’s collection

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

Elsie, census by census

0100200192019401960198020002020Peak: 262

Peaked at 262 in 1930; 102 people lived here in 2020.

11 censuses, 1920–2020.

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

The story

How Elsie came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Elsie.

Read it all →

Elsie was established in about 1887 when the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad was extended to that point. Elsie was the name of the daughter of CB&Q president Charles Elliott Perkins. Several of Elsie's streets were given railroad-related names such as Burlington, Chicago, Perkins, and Quincy.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Elsie, 1887 to 1973

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1887Post officeThe Elsie post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1930CensusPopulation peaks at 262
  5. 1973On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Elsie, decade by decade

Today5 recent
Elsie, Nebraska village hall and PO 22012Elsie, Nebraska village hall and PO 2Elsie, Nebraska village hall and PO 12012Elsie, Nebraska village hall and PO 1Elsie, Nebraska downtown 22012Elsie, Nebraska downtown 2Elsie, Nebraska downtown 12012Elsie, Nebraska downtown 1NEMap-doton-Elsie2005NEMap-doton-Elsie
On the map

Elsie on the map in 1973

The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Elsie.

Elsie on the 1973 USGS map1973Elsie 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 Elsie.

Famous people

Famous people close to Elsie

Nobody well known was born in Elsie itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Gary GlickAmerican football player · b. 1930
Cliff MapesAmerican baseball player · b. 1922
B
Bill CallihanAmerican football player · b. 1916
James Theodore RichmondAmerican librarian · b. 1890
J
John MasonAmerican ceramic artist · b. 1927
M. Miriam HerreraAmerican writer · b. 1963

Questions about Elsie’s history

What year was Elsie founded?

The Elsie post office opened in 1887, 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 Wikimedia Commons (5), Wikipedia, 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.