Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Below: maps from 1911 on and the census since 1900.
The Elgin post office opened in 1860, the earliest record of the town by name.
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Elgin’s history is told.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Elgin. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Elgin.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Elgin yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Elgin is a village in Van Wert County, Ohio, United States. The population was 49 at the 2020 census. It is included within the Van Wert, Ohio Micropolitan Statistical Area.
Its first post office opened in 1860. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 57 to 49 (-14%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Between 49 and 208 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.
Nobody well known was born in Elgin itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
The Elgin post office opened in 1860, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (3), 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.
2015
2015
2004
