Begun as a sawmill settlement, Elbert (1860s, 6,715 feet) moved to its current site in 1882. Located in the county's “rain belt” at the edge of the Black Forest, Elbert was a premier potato growing district until a blight wiped out crops in the late 1920s. Since then, farming around Elbert has centered mainly on dry-land crops such as hay, grain, and wheat. After a flood in 1935 wiped out half the town, the Denver & New Orleans Railroad pulled up its tracks and discontinued service. The unincorporated, dirtstreeted town lingers on with only a handful of residents. A blond brick one-story post office (1930s), northeast corner of Main Street and Lavell Avenue, was originally the bank. A most interesting house is the two-story, cross-gabled Carpenter's Gothic cottage (1890s), 24163 Eccles Street (northwest corner of St. Claire Avenue), with 1980s wood gingerbread trim more exuberant than the Victorian original.
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