RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Illinois >> Stark County >> ElmiraIndex...

Welcome to Elmira ...

Elmira is located in Stark County<1>.

While we don't have a date for the founding of Elmira, you might consider that their post office opened in 1840.

When the people of Elmira refer to themselves (known as a demonym), they frequently use Elmiran<2>

Elmira is 780 feet [238 m] above sea level.<3>.

Time Zone: Elmira lies in the Central Time Zone (CST/CDT) and observes daylight saving time

Area Codes for Elmira: 309 & 861<4>

Communities Also Named Elmira ...

Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are 14 communities that are also named Elmira - they are located in California, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, New York, Ohio, Ontario, Oregon, Prince Edward Island, South Dakota and West Virginia.

For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Elmira.

Communities near Elmira ...

We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Elmira.

  • Kewanee
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Galva
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • Princeville
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)
  • Wyoming
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Toulon
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Atkinson
    (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
  • Wyanet
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Sheffield
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
  • Annawan
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
  • Tiskilwa
    (18 miles [29 km] to the northeast)

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 Elmira. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Elmira.

Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Elmira. 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 Elmira.

We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Elmira. See our Newspapers Page for Elmira.

TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Elmira ...

Looking for more information about Elmira? 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 Elmira, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Elmira.

Adding Elmira to Our Gazetteer ...

We originally found mention of Elmira 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 (so far) for Elmira was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<6>

From that list, the Elmira post office opened in 1840. The Elmira post office closed in 1906.

For more details, see References and Mentions for Elmira.

Footnotes ...

<1>If you're interested in how the shape of Illinois' counties, including Stark, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
<2>A demonym is the name for a resident of a community which is usually derived from (or is related to) the name of that community. In other words, it's how the residents of Elmira refer to themselves. It's important to note that there aren't any rules for taking a community's name and turning it into a demonym. A demonym is informal and while the majority of Elmira may use one name, keep in mind that others may use something different.
<3>The elevation is an estimate for the area around Elmira - it will be higher in some places and lower in others.
<4>When there's a risk of an area code running out of phone numbers, an 'Overlay Area Code' is created that has the same geographic boundaries as the existing area code. In this case, the 309 code has been Overlayed with the 861 area code. New phone numbers in the Elmira area will be assigned with one of these codes: 309 or 861. As a result, placing a call in the Elmira area will require 10-digit dialing (where you enter both the area code and then the phone number).
<5>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<6>A copy of the Blevins & Helbock Post Office list with background information can be found at:

      https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/