Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1902 on, and the census since 1900.
Elco dates its founding to 1894 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1900.
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 Elco’s history is told.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Elco. 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 Elco.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Elco yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Elco is a borough in Washington County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 263 at the 2020 census.
Elco was established in 1894. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 323 to 267 (-17%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
In the archive1940 Census Enumeration District Descriptions - Pennsylvania - Washington County - ED 63-…
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological SurveyOne decade in the archive so far: the 1850s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Elco’s page.
Retake this view · +15Between 267 and 944 people in every census since 1900.
13 censuses, 1900–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Elco’s Wikipedia page.
Nobody well known was born in Elco itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
In 1894, according to Wikidata. the census of 1900 counted 850 people here.
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 (2), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps and U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
2014
