The story
Read it all →How Elkland came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Elkland.
The Parkhurst Memorial Presbyterian Church was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2012.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Photo: User:Dincher · CC BY-SA 3.0AHistory
History · Elkland
Elkland dates to 1806, and 48% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 90% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Its Register listing is the Parkhurst Memorial Presbyterian Church. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1897 on, and the census since 1860.
1806founded
1on the National Register
48%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
Quick answers
How Elkland began
When was Elkland founded?
1806
Elkland dates its founding to 1806 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1860.
First census: 312 in 18602020 census: 1,827220 years
How historic is Elkland?
A
What drives the grade ↓More historic than 90% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1921.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Elkland’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Elkland is more historic than 90% of U.S. towns. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Elkland’s overall grade.
Founding era1806, from Wikidata: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194048.2% of homes (±9.4) · typical PA town 17.7% · U.S. 8.4%A+National Register1 listing, 6.3 per 10,000 residents · typical PA town 2.1 · U.S. 2.4B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 90%
NewerOlder
Pennsylvania towns list about as much on the Register as the country (a typical Pennsylvania town has 2.1 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Elkland’s 6.3 sits above most of its state (70% of Pennsylvania towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1806.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B+ to A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±9.4 points).
Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Elkland’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 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19004 editions of the USGS map, 1900 to 1999. Watch Elkland change.Old housesHalf of Elkland’s homes were built before 1943.Mapped building by building4 fire insurance maps, 1897 to 1922, drew every building in Elkland.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Elkland’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Elkland’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.On the map
Elkland on the map, 1900 to 1999
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Elkland. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1900Elkland 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 Elkland.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Elkland in 1897
Passages that mention Elkland, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Tioga County, Pennsylvania1897 · page 395Read the page →
Read the text
IN January, 1857, all that part of the old township of Elkland, lying -west of a line extending north and south through the center of the borough of Elkland, was erected iato the township of Osceola, which, in 1878, acquired a large accession of territory from the township of Deerfield, giving it an area of 7,800 acres. November 29, 1882, the entire township was incorporated as the borough of Osceola, thus giving it the largest territory of any borough in the county. Like Nelson, Osceola is a township with a borough organization, the greater part of its area being made up of farming lands. The borough center is in the village of Osceola, on the north bank
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Tioga County, Pennsylvania1897 · page 393Read the page →
Read the text
In 1851, while the township of Elkland still existed, and before there was any territory known as Osceola, this same church built a second church edifice in what is now Osceola, in which, after the burning of the church in Elkland, services were held, as well as occasionally in Elkland. In 1868 a building used as a union church by the Presbyterians and Methodists was erected. It may be well to say here that the church in Elkland and the one in Osceola form one society, incorporated December 26, 1844, as "The Presbyterian Church and Congregation of Elkland," the corporate name being changed December 2, 1874, to "The Presbyterian Church of Elkland
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Elkland, 1806 to 1921
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1806FoundingElkland is established
- 1889
BuiltParkhurst Memorial Presbyterian Church is built - 20th century
- 1900
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey - 1912
In the archiveSt. Thomas Church - Parsonage - Elkland, Pa - 1921Post officeThe Elkland post office opens
By decade
Elkland, decade by decade
One decade in the archive so far: the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
1910s2 items
19121920s–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
2011
2010
2010
2010
2010
2010
2008Every building
Elkland, building by building, 1897–1922
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
1897Sheet 1 of 2Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
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.
Retake this viewSt. Thomas Church - Parsonage - Elkland, Pa, 1912
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Elkland’s page.
Retake this view · +15On the National Register
1 historic place in Elkland
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
2012
Parkhurst Memorial Presbyterian Church
Buildings
Architectural styles listings
Late Victorian1
Romanesque1
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
People over time
Elkland, census by census
Between 312 and 2,400 people in every census since 1860.
17 censuses, 1860–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Elkland’s Wikipedia page.
Famous people
See all →Famous people close to Elkland
Nobody well known was born in Elkland itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Questions about Elkland’s history
What year was Elkland founded?
In 1806, according to Wikidata. Elkland’s post office opened in 1921, and the census of 1860 counted 312 people here.
How does Elkland rank for history?
Elkland is more historic than 90% of U.S. towns. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
What is on the National Register in Elkland?
One place: the Parkhurst Memorial Presbyterian Church (listed 2012).
How old are the homes in Elkland?
48% of Elkland’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±9.4 points), against a typical 18% for a Pennsylvania town; the median home was built in 1943.
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).
From Wikimedia Commons (7), the Library of Congress (2), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.