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History · Eleva

Eleva’s post office opened in 1885, and 30% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1927 on and the census since 1910.

1885first post office
0on the National Register
30%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Eleva began

When was Eleva founded?

1885

The Eleva post office opened in 1885, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 319 in 19102020 census: 685141 years
Founding year: the first Eleva post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Eleva’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Eleva are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Eleva’s homes were built before 1964.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Eleva’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story

How Eleva came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Eleva.

Read it all →

Before white settlement, Lakota and Ho-Chunk Indians controlled the area that would become Eleva, but Ojibwe territory lay only ten miles north, across the Chippewa River. The first settlers in what would become the town of Albion arrived in 1856. Most settled east of the future Eleva, around what would be called Hamlin, on the stage road from Whitehall to Eau Claire. In these early days some Indians still migrated through in the spring and fall, camping just west of where Eleva would grow. William Moon, one of the first settlers, harvested potatoes that first fall of 1856 - the first harvest in Albion. In following years more settlers arrived, and began growing wheat and corn.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Eleva in 1917

Passages that mention Eleva, cut from the printed page as they were published.

17, 1878. Whitehall was platted Jan. 20, 1874, and incorporated June 14, 1887. Eleva was platted Sept. 10, 1877, and incorporated Jan. 14, 1902. Osseo was platted Sept. 22, 1857, and incorporated Sept. 4, 1893. Independence was platted May 13, 1876, and was incorporated Dec. 16, 1885.
History of Trempealeau County, Wisconsin1917 · page 224Read the page →
Read the text

17, 1878. Whitehall was platted Jan. 20, 1874, and incorporated June 14, 1887. Eleva was platted Sept. 10, 1877, and incorporated Jan. 14, 1902. Osseo was platted Sept. 22, 1857, and incorporated Sept. 4, 1893. Independence was platted May 13, 1876, and was incorporated Dec. 16, 1885.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

By decade

Eleva, decade by decade

Today3 recent
Eleva, Wisconsin2023Eleva, WisconsinEleva Wisc downtown2016Eleva Wisc downtownWIMap-doton-Eleva2005WIMap-doton-Eleva
On the map

Eleva on the map, 1927 to 1973

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

Eleva on the 1927 USGS mapEleva on the 1930 USGS mapEleva on the 1973 USGS map1927Strum 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 Eleva.

People over time

Eleva, census by census

0100200300400500600700192019401960198020002020685

Grew from 319 people in 1910 to 685 in 2020.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Eleva

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

See all →
Roderick StrongAmerican professional wrestler · b. 1983
Callista GingrichU.S. diplomat · b. 1966
Justin VernonAmerican singer-songwriter · b. 1981
G
George N. Gillett, Jr.American businessman · b. 1938
Stanley BlystoneActor · b. 1894
Jake McCabeAmerican ice hockey player · b. 1993

Questions about Eleva’s history

What year was Eleva founded?

The Eleva post office opened in 1885, 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 →
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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 (3), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.