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CHistory
History · Elsa

Elsa dates to 1800

More historic than 28% of U.S. towns · #262 of 642 in Texas. What drives it

Most of Elsa was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1991. Below: 24 old photos and papers, maps from 1957 on, and the census since 1940.

1800founded
0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
24old photos & papers
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Elsa’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Elsa began

When was Elsa founded?

1800

Elsa dates its founding to 1800 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1940.

First census: 1,006 in 19402020 census: 5,668226 years

How historic is Elsa?

C

More historic than 28% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1927.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Elsa’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Elsa is more historic than 28% of U.S. towns, #262 of 642 in Texas. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Elsa’s overall grade.
Founding era1800, from Wikipedia: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 19400.0% of homes (±1.0) · typical TX town 1.6% · U.S. 8.4%D−National RegisterNo listings counted · typical TX town 0.0 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 28%
NewerOlder
Texas towns of 2,500+ (642)Ahead of 59%

Few Texas towns list much on the Register (a typical Texas town has 0.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Elsa’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (34% of Texas towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikipedia alone; no second source gives 1800.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to B−. The pre-1940 share (±1.0 points) is firm at this size.

Founding year: Wikipedia (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 Elsa’s past

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

A town in old photos24 old photos, postcards and papers.Deep rootsEstablished in 1800: 226 years of Elsa.
★ What stands out · By decade

Elsa, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1930s24 items
Packing broccoli. Elsa, Texas1939Packing broccoli. Elsa, TexasPacking broccoli. Elsa, Texas1939Packing broccoli. Elsa, TexasPacking carrots. Elsa, Texas1939Packing carrots. Elsa, TexasCarrots on trucks. Elsa, Texas1939Carrots on trucks. Elsa, TexasIcing car of vegetables. Elsa, Texas1939Icing car of vegetables. Elsa, TexasPacking radishes in crates. Elsa, Texas1939Packing radishes in crates. Elsa, TexasLidding machine. Vegetable packing plant1939Lidding machine. Vegetable packing plantLoading platform of vegetable packinghouse at Elsa, Texas1939Loading platform of vegetable packinghouse at Elsa, T…Lidding machine used in packing vegetables. Elsa, Texas1939Lidding machine used in packing vegetables. Elsa, Tex…Lidding machine used in packing vegetables. Elsa, Texas1939Lidding machine used in packing vegetables. Elsa, Tex…First washing of carrots on truck. Elsa, Texas1939First washing of carrots on truck. Elsa, TexasWashing table for carrots. Vegetable packing plant1939Washing table for carrots. Vegetable packing plantPacking carrots into boxes. Vegetable packing plant1939Packing carrots into boxes. Vegetable packing plantFirst washing of carrots at vegetable packing plant. Elsa, Texas1939First washing of carrots at vegetable packing plant. …Shovelling shaved ice into conveyor system. Vegetable packing plant1939Shovelling shaved ice into conveyor system. Vegetable…Pushing in the last few crates of vegetables into boxcar. Elsa, Texas1939Pushing in the last few crates of vegetables into box…Removing carrots from conveyor for packing into boxes for shipping. Elsa, Texas1939Removing carrots from conveyor for packing into boxes…Broccoli is bunched and sorted by workers in box-like carts. Elsa, Texas1939Broccoli is bunched and sorted by workers in box-like…First step in packing carrots is to move them from truck to washing conveyor. Elsa, Texas1939First step in packing carrots is to move them from tr…Untitled photo, possibly related to: Shovelling shaved ice into conveyor system. Vegetable packing plant1939Untitled photo, possibly related to: Shovelling shave…Packing carrots into boxes. Icing is accomplished by dropping shaved ice from chute into crate. Elsa, Texas1939Packing carrots into boxes. Icing is accomplished by …Unloading carrots from farmers' trucks to carts for easy transportation into plant vegetable packing plant. Elsa, Texas1939Unloading carrots from farmers' trucks to carts for e…Untitled photo, possibly related to: Pushing in the last few crates of vegetables into boxcar. Elsa, Texas1939Untitled photo, possibly related to: Pushing in the l…Carrots are taken from large trucks and placed on conveyor where they are washed. Vegetable packing plant1939Carrots are taken from large trucks and placed on con…
1940s–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
Timeline

Elsa, 1800 to 1957

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1800
    FoundingElsa is established
  3. 20th century
  4. 1927Post officeThe Elsa post office opens
  5. 1939In the archivePacking broccoli. Elsa, Texas
  6. 1939Born hereEsteban Jordan is born here
  7. 1957On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
The story

How Elsa came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Elsa.

Read it all →

Elsa was settled as ranch land before 1800. Anglo-Americans settled in the area in the early 1900s; the town was laid out with the coming of the Texas and New Orleans Railroad in 1927, and incorporated in 1940.

The Ro-Tel brand of tomatoes and green chile, now known as a basic ingredient of Tex-Mex cooking, began in 1943 as a family canning plant in Elsa established by Carl Roetelle.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

On the map

Elsa on the map, 1957 to 1980

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

Elsa on the 1957 USGS mapElsa on the 1970 USGS mapElsa on the 1980 USGS map1957Edcouch sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Elsa.

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.

Packing broccoli. Elsa, Texas
Retake this viewPacking broccoli. Elsa, Texas, 1939

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Elsa, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,0005,5006,000194019601980200020205,668

Grew from 1,006 people in 1940 to 5,668 in 2020, 5 times over.

9 censuses, 1940–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Old corners

Elsa’s post office has been open since 1927.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Hacienda el Porvenir ColoniaSalinas-Hinojosa ColoniaTen Acres Colonia

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

Help out

Finish Elsa’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

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

Questions about Elsa’s history

What year was Elsa founded?

In 1800, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Elsa’s post office opened in 1927, and the census of 1940 counted 1,006 people here.

How does Elsa rank for history?

Elsa is more historic than 28% of U.S. towns, #262 of 642 in Texas. 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.

How old are the homes in Elsa?

0.0% of Elsa’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.0 points), against a typical 1.6% for a Texas town; the median home was built in 1991.

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).

From the Library of Congress (24), 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.