Welcome to Elgin ...
The city of Elgin is located in Union County<1>.
While we don't have a date for the founding of Elgin, you might consider that their post office opened in 1885.
The city was incorporated in 1891.
From the Census Estimates for 2019, Elgin has a population of 1,809 people<2> (see below for details).
Elgin is 2,680 feet [817 m] above sea level.<3> In other words, the elevation of Elgin is ½ mile above sea level.
Time Zone: Elgin lies in the Pacific Time Zone (PST/PDT) and observes daylight saving time
Area codes for Elgin: (541) and (458)<4>
The ZIP code for Elgin: 97827<5>
In the past, Elgin was named Fish Trap. and Indian Valley. For more information about the names of Elgin, see The Names of Elgin on our Genealogy Page.
Websites for Elgin ...
Official Website: www.cityofelginor.org/
Chamber of Commerce: www.unioncountychamber.org/
Population Details ...
Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Elgin had an population of 1,809 people. This is an increase of 5.73% since the 2010 Census (or an increase of 9.37% since the 2000 Census).
At the time of the 2010 Census, Elgin had a population of 1,711 people (which is 6.65% of the total population of Union County). This makes Elgin the county's 3rd most populous community.
The population of Elgin represents 0.04% of the total population of Oregon (which has 3,831,074 people), making it the state's 129th most populous community.
With a 2010 count of 1,711 people, the population of Elgin increased 3.45% from the 2000 Census (with a count of 1,654 people).
More information can be found on the Census Page for Elgin.
Communities Also Named Elgin ...
Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are 39 communities that are also named Elgin - they are located in Alabama (2), Arizona (2), Arkansas, British Columbia, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas (2), Manitoba, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri (2), Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Brunswick, New York, North Dakota, Nova Scotia, Ohio, Oklahoma (2), Ontario (2), Pennsylvania, Quebec, South Carolina (2), Tennessee, Texas, Utah (2), Virginia and Washington.
For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Elgin.
Communities near Elgin ...
We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Elgin.
- La Grande
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Grande
- La Grande is located in Union County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 13,399 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for La Grande <6>
- Island City
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Island City
- Island City is located in Union County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,024 people
- Wallowa
(18 miles [29 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wallowa have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wallowa
- Wallowa is located in Wallowa County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 831 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Wallowa <6>
- Cove
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cove
- Cove is located in Union County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 652 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cove <6>
- Imbler
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Imbler
- Imbler is located in Union County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 321 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Imbler <6>
- Summerville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summerville
- Summerville is located in Union County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 144 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Summerville <6>
- Conley
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Conley
- Conley is located in Union County
- Tollgate
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tollgate
- Tollgate is located in Umatilla County
- Orodell ‑ Historic
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest) - Bingham Springs
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bingham Springs
- Bingham Springs is located in Umatilla County
To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...
We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.
We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Elgin. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Elgin.
Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Elgin. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Elgin.
We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Elgin. See our Newspapers Page for Elgin.
TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Elgin ...
Looking for more information about Elgin? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.
In addition to the Tourism page for Elgin, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Elgin.
Adding Elgin to Our Gazetteer ...
We originally found mention of Elgin in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.
From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found for Elgin was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<9>
From that list, the Elgin post office opened in 1885.
We also found Elgin in the book titled Business Atlas and Shippers' Guide (1895).
For more details, see References and Mentions for Elgin.
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Elgin: www.cityofelginor.org/
The official website for Union County: www.union-county.org/
The official website for State of Oregon: https://www.oregon.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | If you're interested in how the shape of Oregon's counties, including Union, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. |
| <2> | Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for Elgin. |
| <3> | The elevation is an estimate for the area around Elgin - it will be higher in some places and lower in others. |
| <4> | Area code (458) is an overlay for area code (541). |
| <5> | ZIP Codes have been created by the United States Postal Service (USPS) as a way of grouping addresses to make delivery more efficient. The boundaries of the ZIP Code can be changed, re-assigned, eliminated or overlapped with other ZIP Codes. So keep in mind that any given ZIP Code is only 'loosely' associated with a city (such as Elgin). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether Elgin or elsewhere, it's always best to check the website of the United States Postal Service (USPS). |
| <6> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <7> | The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required. |
| <8> | An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace. |
| <9> | A copy of their list with background information can be found at: https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/ |