Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 28% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Below: maps from 1961 on and the census since 1910.
Elwood dates its founding to 1868 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1910.
More historic than 28% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Elwood is more historic than 28% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
Utah towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Utah town has 3.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Elwood’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (18% of Utah towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
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 →
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 Elwood’s history is told.
Lost half of its people between 1920 and 1970, then grew 3-fold.
12 censuses, 1910–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Elwood’s Wikipedia page.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Elwood yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Elwood is a town in Box Elder County, Utah, United States. The population was 1,173 at the 2020 census, up from the 2010 figure of 1,034.
Elwood was established in 1868. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 1,034 to 1,173 (+13%).
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.
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological SurveyEvery edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Elwood. 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 Elwood.
Nobody well known was born in Elwood itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Elwood had its own post office from 1901 to 1902.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
In 1868, according to Wikidata. Elwood’s post office opened in 1901, and the census of 1910 counted 525 people here.
Elwood is more historic than 28% 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.
11% of Elwood’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.3 points), against a typical 2.8% for an Utah town; the median home was built in 1997.
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).
From Wikimedia Commons (1), 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.
2008