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History · Elmore City

Elmore City dates to 1898

Most of Elmore City was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1969. Below: maps from 1898 on and the census since 1900.

1898founded
0on the National Register
2%homes built before 1940
1famous people
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Quick answers

How Elmore City began, and where its name came from

When was Elmore City founded?

1898

Elmore City dates its founding to 1898 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1900.

First census: 192 in 19002020 census: 738128 years

How did Elmore City get its name?

Elmore City was named after J. O. Elmore.

Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1890. Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓

What stands out about Elmore City’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 Elmore City are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18984 editions of the USGS map, 1898 to 1986. Watch Elmore City change.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Elmore City.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Elmore City’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Elmore City’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

Elmore City on the map, 1898 to 1986

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

Elmore City on the 1898 USGS mapElmore City on the 1902 USGS mapElmore City on the 1969 USGS mapElmore City on the 1986 USGS map1898Pauls Valley 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 Elmore City.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Elmore City’s post office has been open since 1911. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Elmore
1890–1910
Banner
1910–1911
Elmore City
1911–today
18901960today

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

The story

How Elmore City came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Elmore City.

Read it all →

The first business in Elmore City was opened by Jasper N. Black in an area just northeast of what is now Elmore City. Historians state that after Black opened his supply store in 1890 on Rock Creek, the number of settlers quickly grew and a community was formed called Banner. Banner quickly spread to the southwest and a post office was established and the name changed to Elmore for J. O. Elmore, another prominent business man. The word city was added to Elmore after the name was confused with Elmer in Jackson County. The city was incorporated as a community in 1898.

At the time of its founding, Elmore City was located in Pickens County, Chickasaw Nation.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Elmore City, 1890 to 1953

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1890Post officeThe Elmore post office opens
  3. 1898
    FoundingElmore City is established
  4. 1898On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 20th century
  6. 1910Post officeThe Elmore post office closes
  7. 1910Post officeThe Banner post office opens
  8. 1911Post officeThe Banner post office closes
  9. 1911Post officeThe Elmore City post office opens
  10. 1953Born hereRebecca Bluestone is born here
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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People over time

Elmore City, census by census

02004006008001,0001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 982

Between 192 and 982 people in every census since 1900.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

Questions about Elmore City’s history

What year was Elmore City founded?

In 1898, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Elmore City’s post office opened in 1890, and the census of 1900 counted 192 people here.

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 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.