The story
Read it all →How West Elkton came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of West Elkton.
West Elkton was laid out in 1847. A post office called West Elkton has been in operation since 1844.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Quick answers
How West Elkton began
When was West Elkton founded?
1844
The West Elkton post office opened in 1844, the earliest record of the town by name.
First census: 185 in 18602020 census: 164182 years
Founding year: the first West Elkton post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
What stands out about West Elkton’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 West Elkton are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of West Elkton’s homes were built before 1938.Boom and bustPeaked at 345 in 1960; 164 people lived here in 2020.On the map since 19113 editions of the USGS map, 1911 to 1987. Watch West Elkton change.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start West Elkton’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how West Elkton’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.People over time
West Elkton, census by census
Peaked at 345 in 1960; 164 people lived here in 2020.
17 censuses, 1860–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on West Elkton’s Wikipedia page.
Timeline
West Elkton, 1844 to 1960
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1844Post officeThe West Elkton post office opens
- 20th century
- 1911
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey - 1960CensusPopulation peaks at 345
By decade
West Elkton, decade by decade
2016
2016
2016
2016
2015
2004On the map
West Elkton on the map, 1911 to 1987
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of West Elkton. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1911Oxford sheet · 1:62,500U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of West Elkton.
Famous people
See all →Famous people close to West Elkton
Nobody well known was born in West Elkton itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Questions about West Elkton’s history
What year was West Elkton founded?
The West Elkton post office opened in 1844, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (6), 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.