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History · Elberta

Elberta’s history is
mostly unwritten

The public archives hold no old photos of Elberta. The rest are in attics, shoeboxes and the historical society. Help start the collection.

0old images & papers
12recent photos

The story

from WikipediaRead it all ↗

Elberta was first settled in 1855 and incorporated as South Frankfort in 1894. It was renamed Elberta in 1911 for the local Elberta peach. The village's founder is said to be George M. Cartwright.

M-168, previously one of the shortest state highways in Michigan, extended 0.95 miles (1.53 km) from a junction with M-22 in downtown Elberta to the former Ann Arbor Railroad ferry docks in Elberta. This highway was decommissioned in 2012.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

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Start Elberta’s collection

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

0 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Famous people from ElbertaWriters, athletes, leaders and more who were born in Elberta.Meet them →
By decade

Elberta, decade by decade

Before
2000
No old photos in the archives yetWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
📷 Add from your album
Today12 photos
ElbertaCommonsElberta2019Elberta (village), MI locationCommonsElberta (village), MI location2019Crapo ParkCommonsCrapo Park2019Elberta BeachCommonsElberta Beach2018Over looking Frankfort - panoramio (1)CommonsOver looking Frankfort - panoramio (1)2013Bye Street LookoutCommonsBye Street Lookout2013Bye Street Lookout - panoramio (2)CommonsBye Street Lookout - panoramio (2)2013Bye Street Lookout - panoramio (1)CommonsBye Street Lookout - panoramio (1)2013Bye St lookoutCommonsBye St lookout2013Michigan life saving station 01CommonsMichigan life saving station 012008Sunset Elberta MICommonsSunset Elberta MI2007MIMap-doton-ElbertaCommonsMIMap-doton-Elberta2005
National Register of Historic Places

Nothing in Elberta is on the National Register yet

That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Elberta has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is City of Milwaukee in Frankfort, 0.6 miles away.

Elberta and the nearest listed places

Dashed line = Elberta. Tap a dot.
City of MilwaukeeNavigation Structures at Frankfort HarborFrankfort Land Company HouseFrankfort North Breakwater LightWatervale Historic DistrictGwen Frostic Studio

Closest to Elberta

City of MilwaukeeFrankfort · Structure0.6miNavigation Structures at Frankfort HarborFrankfort · Structure0.9miFrankfort Land Company HouseFrankfort · Building0.9miFrankfort North Breakwater LightFrankfort · Structure1.1miWatervale Historic DistrictBlaine · District4.7mi

How a place gets listed

1Talk to the stateEvery nomination goes through the State Historic Preservation Office. Owners, towns and historical societies can start one.
2Try a local or state list firstMany states keep their own register with a shorter form, a common first step for old barns, halls and schoolhouses.
3Write it upA nomination covers the history, photos and a map. City of Milwaukee’s page links to a real one.
Know an old place in Elberta?A mill, a schoolhouse, a cellar hole, a church: add a photo of it to Elberta’s story, or a memory of it.
📷 Add a photo of an old place
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places · photos from Wikimedia Commons

Then & now

When neighbors add old photos, retakes from the same spot appear here side by side.

Stories next door

nearby towns’ history
📜 Frankfort📜 Crystal Lake📜 Gilmore📜 Blaine

From Wikimedia Commons (12). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/18 · 2025-01-01
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