Elbe’s history is
mostly unwritten
The public archives hold only 2 old photos of Elbe. The rest are in attics, shoeboxes and the historical society. Help start the collection.
The story
from WikipediaRead it all ↗In 1888 the first settlers came to the forests on the Nisqually River. Some of them were the German emigrants Karl Lütkens and Adam Sachs. Karl Lütkens, who was only 19 at the time, was so enthusiastic about his new home that he persuaded his parents Heinrich and Christina Lütkens to come to America as well. These left their previous home in Todendorf in the district Stormarn in Schleswig-Holstein and arrived in America in 1891. The first settlers in this area also included Ferdinand Selle, Christian Fritz, Louis Schuffenhauer, Christian Kruse, Max Ogans, Hans Bartels, Fred Duke, W. Lawrence, Levi Engel, Vincent Rotter, R. Schmidt, Frank Salzer, Gus Stoll and Christian Weilandt. The small town grew, and on June 4, 1892, a post office was already established here.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Timeline
built from the dates on the items belowStart Elbe’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Elbe’s history is told.
1 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 🔁Retake an old viewAvon Ranch showing John Ransweile…, 1896: stand where they stood+15 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10Famous people close to Elbe
See all 17 →
Elbe, decade by decade
1990s
1 historic place in Elbe
1 place in Elbe is on the National Register of Historic Places, the country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
Where they are
When they were listed
Then & now
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as Avon Ranch showing John Ransweiler and family, Elbe, August 12, 1896 (1896) and it appears here side by side.
🔁 Retake this view · +15Stories next door
nearby towns’ historyFrom Wikimedia Commons (6). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.