The story
Read it all →How Elmer City came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Elmer City.
Elmer City was officially incorporated on April 17, 1947, and is located on the Colville Indian Reservation.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
–Not graded
History · Elmer City
Elmer City’s post office opened in 1939, and 15% of its homes were built before 1940
Below: maps from 1989 on and the census since 1950.
1939first post office
0on the National Register
15%homes built before 1940
Quick answers
How Elmer City began
When was Elmer City founded?
1939
The Elmer City post office opened in 1939, the earliest record of the town by name.
First census: 513 in 19502020 census: 23987 years
Founding year: the first Elmer City post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
What stands out about Elmer City’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Elmer City’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Elmer City’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.By decade
Elmer City, decade by decade
Today1 recent
2005On the map
Elmer City on the map in 1989
The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Elmer City.
1989Grand Coulee Dam sheet · 1:24,000U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Elmer City.
People over time
Elmer City, census by census
Between 238 and 513 people in every census since 1950.
8 censuses, 1950–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Elmer City’s Wikipedia page.
Famous people
See all →Famous people close to Elmer City
Nobody well known was born in Elmer City itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Questions about Elmer City’s history
What year was Elmer City founded?
The Elmer City post office opened in 1939, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
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). How TownRatings grades history →
From Wikimedia Commons (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.