Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Elmhurst Township

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
–Not graded
History · Elmhurst Township

Elmhurst Township’s post office opened in 1889, and 31% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1889 on.

1889first post office
0on the National Register
31%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Elmhurst Township began

When was Elmhurst Township founded?

1889

The Elmhurst Township post office opened in 1889, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 842137 years
Founding year: the first Elmhurst Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Elmhurst Township’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 Elmhurst Township are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18895 editions of the USGS map, 1889 to 1976. Watch Elmhurst Township change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Elmhurst Township’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Elmhurst Township on the map, 1889 to 1976

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

Elmhurst Township on the 1889 USGS mapElmhurst Township on the 1891 USGS mapElmhurst Township on the 1946 USGS mapElmhurst Township on the 1969 USGS mapElmhurst Township on the 1976 USGS map1889Scranton 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 Elmhurst Township.

The story so far

Elmhurst Township, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Elmhurst Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Elmhurst Township is a township in Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, United States. Established in 1826. The population was 836 at the 2020 census.

Its first post office opened in 1889. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 894 to 842 (-6%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Elmhurst Township, 1889 to 1917

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1889Post officeThe Elmhurst post office opens
  3. 1889On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  4. 20th century
  5. 1917Born hereGeorge Fonder is born here
By decade

Elmhurst Township, decade by decade

Today1 recent
Cross Road Assembly of God Elmhurst TWP LackaCo PA2015Cross Road Assembly of God Elmhurst TWP LackaCo PA
Places that used to be

Old corners and burying grounds

Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Elmhurst
1cemetery inside Elmhurst Township
Fairview Memorial Estate

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

Questions about Elmhurst Township’s history

What year was Elmhurst Township founded?

The Elmhurst Township post office opened in 1889, 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 (1), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.