Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Elmwood

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 · Elmwood

Elmwood’s post office opened in 1885, and 23% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1946 on, and the census since 1910.

1885first post office
0on the National Register
23%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Elmwood’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Elmwood began

When was Elmwood founded?

1885

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

First census: 585 in 19102020 census: 820141 years
Founding year: the first Elmwood post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Elmwood’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 3 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Elmwood’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Elmwood’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 viewBird's eye view of Elmwood, Wis: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Elmwood came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Elmwood.

Read it all →

A post office called Elmwood has been in operation since 1885. The village was named for a grove of elm trees near the town site.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Elmwood, 1885 to 1946

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1885Post officeThe Elmwood post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1912In the archiveBird's eye view of Elmwood, Wis
  5. 1918Born hereHugh E. Wild is born here
  6. 1946On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Elmwood, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1910s3 items
Bird's eye view of Elmwood, Wis1912Bird's eye view of Elmwood, WisBird's eye view of Elmwood, Wis1912Bird's eye view of Elmwood, WisElmwood, Wisconsin - 19141914Elmwood, Wisconsin - 1914
1920s–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
Today1 recent
WIMap-doton-Elmwood2004WIMap-doton-Elmwood
On the map

Elmwood on the map, 1946 to 1974

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

Elmwood on the 1946 USGS mapElmwood on the 1974 USGS map1946Knapp 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 Elmwood.

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.

Bird's eye view of Elmwood, Wis
Retake this viewBird's eye view of Elmwood, Wis, 1912

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Elmwood, census by census

0200400600800192019401960198020002020Peak: 885

Between 585 and 885 people in every census since 1910.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Spring LakeIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townRock ElmIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWestonIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Elmwood’s history

What year was Elmwood founded?

The Elmwood 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 →
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 (3), 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.