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Fort HalleckFort Halleck · Photo: Timothy H. O'Sullivan · Public domain
–Not graded
History · Elk Mountain

Elk Mountain’s post office opened in 1877, and 48% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listings are the DFU Elk Mountain Bridge and the Elk Mountain Hotel. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1955 on, and the census since 1910.

1877first post office
2on the National Register
48%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Elk Mountain’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Elk Mountain began

When was Elk Mountain founded?

1877

The Elk Mountain post office opened in 1877, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 98 in 19102020 census: 150149 years
Founding year: the first Elk Mountain post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Elk Mountain’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.Boom and bustPeaked at 338 in 1980; 150 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of Elk Mountain’s homes were built before 1945.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Elk Mountain’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Elk Mountain’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 viewMedicine Bow Bridge, Spanning Medicine …: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Elk Mountain, census by census

0100200300192019401960198020002020Peak: 338

Peaked at 338 in 1980; 150 people lived here in 2020.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

The story

How Elk Mountain came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Elk Mountain.

Read it all →

Elk Mountain was a resting spot, the Elk Mountain Station, for early American pioneers in wagon trains heading west on the Overland Trail. Heading west, the travelers came from the Rock Creek Overland Stage Station. The Stage Station and the pioneers selected the site because of the good water year-round from the Medicine Bow River. There are many willow and cottonwood trees. It was also used as a route for the Overland Stage and Mail from 1862 to 1869, which ran from Denver to Salt Lake. From Elk Mountain, travelers moved west on the Overland Trail to Fort Halleck.

The post office was established in 1877. The town was incorporated in 1909.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Elk Mountain, 1877 to 1980

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1877Post officeThe Elk Mountain post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1955On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1980CensusPopulation peaks at 338
By decade

Elk Mountain, decade by decade

Date unknown1 to date
Medicine Bow Bridge, Spanning Medicine Bow River on County Road 3Date?Medicine Bow Bridge, Spanning Medicine Bow River on C…
On the map

Elk Mountain on the map, 1955 to 1982

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

Elk Mountain on the 1955 USGS mapElk Mountain on the 1982 USGS map1955Elk Mountain sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Elk Mountain.

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.

Medicine Bow Bridge, Spanning Medicine Bow River on County Road 3
Retake this viewMedicine Bow Bridge, Spanning Medicine Bow River on County Road 3

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

2 historic places in Elk Mountain

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
1985
DFU Elk Mountain Bridge
DFU Elk Mountain BridgeElk Mountain Hotel
BuildingsStructures

Architectural styles listings

Folk Victorian1
DFU Elk Mountain BridgeStructure
Elk Mountain HotelFolk Victorian

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Elk Mountain

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

See all →
Howard Thomas OrvilleAmerican naval officer and meteorologist · b. 1901
C. C. BeallAmerican illustrator · b. 1892
P
Peter ForakisAmerican artist · b. 1927
B
Bill VaseyAmerican politician · b. 1939

Questions about Elk Mountain’s history

What year was Elk Mountain founded?

The Elk Mountain post office opened in 1877, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Elk Mountain?

Two places: the DFU Elk Mountain Bridge (listed 1985) and the Elk Mountain Hotel (1986).

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), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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.