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Elmira Oregon and Hilltop MarketPhoto: Katr67 · Public domain
–Not graded
History · Elmira

Elmira’s post office opened in 1884, and 10% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 1 old photo or paper and maps from 1909 on.

1884first post office
0on the National Register
10%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Elmira’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Elmira began

When was Elmira founded?

1884

The Elmira post office opened in 1884, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Duckworth (1884), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 546142 years
Founding year: the first Elmira post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Elmira’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19096 editions of the USGS map, 1909 to 1984. Watch Elmira change.Old housesHalf of Elmira’s homes were built before 1953.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Elmira’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Elmira’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewElmira, Oregon: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Elmira on the map, 1909 to 1984

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

Elmira on the 1909 USGS mapElmira on the 1922 USGS mapElmira on the 1942 USGS mapElmira on the 1957 USGS mapElmira on the 1975 USGS mapElmira on the 1984 USGS map1909Elmira 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 Elmira.

The story

How Elmira came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Elmira.

Read it all →

The community was named after Elmira, California, after previously having the name "Duckworth". A local business owner persuaded postal authorities to rename the community "Elmira" in 1884.

In approximately 1905, Elmira Road and the surrounding area was homesteaded by Henry and Celia Faulhaber along with their children Leon, Neil and Mildred. Sometime between 1905 and 1916 Elmira Road was donated back to the county by Henry Faulhaber and later renamed Faulhaber Road.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Elmira, 1884 to 1910

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1884Post officeThe Duckworth post office opens
  3. 1884Post officeThe Duckworth post office closes
  4. 1884Post officeThe Elmira post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1909On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1910In the archiveElmira, Oregon
By decade

Elmira, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1910s1 item
Elmira, Oregon1910Elmira, Oregon
1920s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today4 recent
Elmira, Oregon2011Elmira, OregonElmira High School2011Elmira High SchoolElmira Oregon and Hilltop Market2009Elmira Oregon and Hilltop MarketElmira High School2009Elmira High School
Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Elmira, Oregon
Retake this viewElmira, Oregon, 1910

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Elmira’s page.

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

Famous people close to Elmira

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

See all →
R
Rebecca SchaefferActress · b. 1967
E
Eric Christian OlsenAmerican actor · b. 1977
Mac WilkinsAmerican athletics competitor · b. 1950
Danny AingeAmerican basketball executive and former player… · b. 1959
Isaiah HartensteinGerman-American basketball player · b. 1998
Joan MondaleSecond Lady of the United States from 1977 to 1… · b. 1930
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and places now gone

Elmira’s post office has been open since 1884. Another post office, Duckworth, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Duckworth
1884–1884
Elmira
1884–today
18801950today
Gone or out of use
Union High Schoolschool

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

Questions about Elmira’s history

What year was Elmira founded?

The Elmira post office opened in 1884, 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, 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.