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–Not graded
History · Elma Center

Half of Elma Center’s homes were built after 1986

Most of Elma Center was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1986. Below: maps from 1905 on.

0on the National Register
9%homes built before 1940
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What stands out about Elma Center’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 Center are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19054 editions of the USGS map, 1905 to 1965. Watch Elma Center change.
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Start Elma Center’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Elma Center’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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On the map

Elma Center on the map, 1905 to 1965

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

Elma Center on the 1905 USGS mapElma Center on the 1948 USGS mapElma Center on the 1950 USGS mapElma Center on the 1965 USGS map1905Depew 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 Center.

The story so far

Elma Center, in brief

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

Elma Center is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the town of Elma in Erie County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, Elma Center had a population of 2,851. It is part of the Buffalo–Niagara Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area. Elma Center is located near the center of the town on Bowen Road.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 2,571 to 2,851 (+11%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

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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Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Billington HeightsIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Elma Center’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.