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History · Elderon

Elderon’s post office opened in 1888, and 52% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1964 on, and the census since 1920.

1888first post office
0on the National Register
52%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Elderon’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Elderon began

When was Elderon founded?

1888

The Elderon post office opened in 1888, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 215 in 19202020 census: 161138 years
Founding year: the first Elderon post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Elderon’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 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Elderon’s homes were built before 1938.Boom and bustPeaked at 249 in 1940; 161 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Elderon’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewCharles Bernke House, E9634 State Highw…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Elderon came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Elderon.

Read it all →

A post office called Elderon has been in operation since 1888. The village was named for a grove of elder trees near the town site.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

People over time

Elderon, census by census

0100200192019401960198020002020Peak: 249

Peaked at 249 in 1940; 161 people lived here in 2020.

11 censuses, 1920–2020.

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

Timeline

Elderon, 1888 to 1995

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1888Post officeThe Elderon post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1938Born hereRoger Breske is born here
  5. 1940CensusPopulation peaks at 249
  6. 1964On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1995Post officeThe Elderon post office closes
By decade

Elderon, decade by decade

Date unknown1 to date
Charles Bernke House, E9634 State Highway 29Date?Charles Bernke House, E9634 State Highway 29
On the map

Elderon on the map, 1964 to 1982

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

Elderon on the 1964 USGS mapElderon on the 1982 USGS map1964Wittenberg 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 Elderon.

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.

Charles Bernke House, E9634 State Highway 29
Retake this viewCharles Bernke House, E9634 State Highway 29

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

Retake this view · +15
Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Elderon had its own post office from 1888 to 1995.

Elderon
1888–1995
18801950today

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

Questions about Elderon’s history

What year was Elderon founded?

The Elderon post office opened in 1888, 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 the Library of Congress (1), 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.