Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Elbe

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 · Elbe

Elbe’s post office opened in 1892, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

Its Register listing is the Elbe Evangelical Lutheran Church. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1956 on, and the census since 2000.

1892first post office
1on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Elbe’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Elbe began

When was Elbe founded?

1892

The Elbe post office opened in 1892, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 21 in 20002020 census: 39134 years
Founding year: the first Elbe post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Elbe’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.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Elbe’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewAvon Ranch showing John Ransweiler and …: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Elbe came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Elbe.

Read it all →

In 1888 the first settlers came to the forests on the Nisqually River. Some of them were the German emigrants Karl Lütkens and Adam Sachs. Karl Lütkens, who was only 19 at the time, was so enthusiastic about his new home that he persuaded his parents Heinrich and Christina Lütkens to come to America as well. These left their previous home in Todendorf in the district Stormarn in Schleswig-Holstein and arrived in America in 1891. The first settlers in this area also included Ferdinand Selle, Christian Fritz, Louis Schuffenhauer, Christian Kruse, Max Ogans, Hans Bartels, Fred Duke, W. Lawrence, Levi Engel, Vincent Rotter, R. Schmidt, Frank Salzer, Gus Stoll and Christian Weilandt. The small town grew, and on June 4, 1892, a post office was already established here.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Elbe, 1892 to 1956

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1892Post officeThe Elbe post office opens
  3. 1896In the archiveAvon Ranch showing John Ransweiler and family, Elbe, August 12, 1896
  4. 20th century
  5. 1900In the archiveElbe, Washington 01
  6. 1956On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Elbe, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1890s to the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1890s–1900s2 items
Avon Ranch showing John Ransweiler and family, Elbe, August 12, 18961896Avon Ranch showing John Ransweiler and family, Elbe, …Elbe, Washington 011900Elbe, Washington 01
1910s–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
Today10 recent
Elbe, Washington rest area 012014Elbe, Washington rest area 01Elbe, Washington post office 012014Elbe, Washington post office 01Elbe, Washington grocery store 012014Elbe, Washington grocery store 01Elbe, Washington fire station 012014Elbe, Washington fire station 01Elbe, Washington - old shed 012014Elbe, Washington - old shed 01Elbe, Washington - Scale Burgers 022014Elbe, Washington - Scale Burgers 02Elbe, Washington - Scale Burgers 012014Elbe, Washington - Scale Burgers 01Elbe, Washington - Jackie's Java 012014Elbe, Washington - Jackie's Java 01Elbe, Washington - Christ's Church 012014Elbe, Washington - Christ's Church 01Elbe Safety Rest Area2014Elbe Safety Rest Area
On the map

Elbe on the map, 1956 to 1987

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

Elbe on the 1956 USGS mapElbe on the 1987 USGS map1956Kapowsin 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 Elbe.

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.

Avon Ranch showing John Ransweiler and family, Elbe, August 12, 1896
Retake this viewAvon Ranch showing John Ransweiler and family, Elbe, August 12, 1896, 1896

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Elbe

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
1976
Elbe Evangelical Lutheran Church
Elbe Evangelical Lutheran Church
Buildings
Elbe Evangelical Lutheran ChurchBuilding

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Elbe, census by census

020002020Peak: 39

Between 21 and 39 people in every census since 2000.

3 censuses, 2000–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Elbe

Nobody well known was born in Elbe itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Buzz OsborneAmerican musician · b. 1964
Brandy ClarkAmerican singer-songwriter · b. 1977
Mark FuhrmanAmerican police detective · b. 1952
Frank D. RobinsonAmerican aerospace engineer and entrepreneur · b. 1930
Gene AmondsonAmerican religious minister, artist, and alcoho… · b. 1943
Isaac JonesAmerican basketball player · b. 2000

Questions about Elbe’s history

What year was Elbe founded?

The Elbe post office opened in 1892, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Elbe?

One place: the Elbe Evangelical Lutheran Church (listed 1976).

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 (12), 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) 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.