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Elgin, North Dakota

5 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1954 and the latest in 1980. It stands in Minnie Township. It lies in ZIP code area 58533. The Survey maps it on the Elgin quadrangle. 543 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 2,356 feet above sea level.

Research this city

Elgin within Grant County

On record in Elgin

Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.

On the National Register 1 record

Population over time

2 figures

Elgin fell from 642 to 543 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.

YearPeople Change
2010642
2020543-99 (-15%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

4 surveys from 5 printed sheets

Matched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.

Fires near this place

24 since 2005

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 24 fires within 5 miles of Elgin between 2005 and 2020, burning about 265 acres in total. 6 started naturally. 4 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause Fires
Equipment and vehicle use8
Natural6
Arson/incendiarism4
Missing data/not specified/undetermined2
Smoking2
Debris and open burning2

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
7 September 2016Natural1.0 acresNorth Dakota State Forest ServiceULMER
7 September 2016Natural1.0 acresNorth Dakota State Forest ServiceFISHER
7 September 2016Natural2.0 acresNorth Dakota State Forest ServiceFISHER
11 September 2018Equipment and vehicle use10 acresNorth Dakota State Forest ServiceSCHATZ
27 August 2017Natural1.0 acresNorth Dakota State Forest ServiceOKKEN
24 August 2005Natural1.0 acresNorth Dakota State Forest Servicenot named
14 August 2016Equipment and vehicle use2.0 acresNorth Dakota State Forest ServiceESLINGER
11 August 2020Smoking1.0 acresNorth Dakota State Forest ServiceKROTH

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Grant County

Storms near this place

60 of 68 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Elgin in 68 storm reports between 1994 and 2025: 41 hail, 17 thunderstorm wind, 3 flood, 2 flash flood. The reports record 3 injuries. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
July 2014HailElgin3 hurt, $750,000There were numerous reports of golf ball to over baseball size hail across the Lake Tschida and Heart Butte Dam area resulting in significant damage to vehicles, campers, and trailer homes in the recreational area. In addition three people received non-life threatening head injuries from the hail. They were treated at the scene.
July 2010HailElgin$2,000,000This was the second wave of very large hail to hit Elgin during this episode. Homes throughout the city experienced broken windows, damaged siding, and damaged shingles. Vehicles sustained heavy damaged as well.
March 2009FloodElgin$342,000The Cannonball River caused extensive flooding due to rain, snow melt, and ice jams. Overland flooding damaged state, county and township roads. Nineteen homes were flooded. Flooding continued into April.
July 2018HailElgin$250,000Significant damage to vehicles and roofs occurred in the city of Elgin.
June 2025Thunderstorm WindElgin$100,000On the north side of Lake Tschida a camper was tipped on its side, a pontoon was completely flipped, trees were down, and a wooden swing set was tipped over.
April 2009FloodElgin$100,000Additional overland flooding and flooding on the Cannonball River resulted in further flood damage. Flooding in April was less severe than March due to no ice jams.
July 2017Thunderstorm WindElgin$75,000Shingles were blown off about one-quarter of a roof on a home. Some plywood was also stripped from the roof. Multiple branches were down around the city of Elgin.
June 2011Flash FloodElgin$75,000Very heavy rainfall contributed to flash flooding along Antelope Creek near North Dakota Highway 49. A storm survey crew observed high water marks near the top of barbed wire fences in this area. The Carson Press newspaper reported damage was sustained to rural roads north of Elgin.
July 2010LightningElgin$65,000A lightning strike caused a house fire in Elgin. The lightning bolt struck the chimney of the house, traveling into the basement starting a fire in the electrical wiring on all three levels of the home. When arriving on scene, fire officials reported that a metal antenna on the chimney of the home was glowing bright orange. No injuries or fatalities occurred. The home was determined to be a complete loss.
June 2025Thunderstorm WindElgin$50,000A large outbuilding had most of its roof panels blown off.
May 1996Thunderstorm WindElgin$50,000no account filed
June 2024HailElgin$40,000Hail fell at a campground at Lake Tschida causing damage to campers.
July 2020HailElgin$25,000Multiple windows were broken on the barn and on garage doors.
July 2007HailElgin$20,000Newspaper reports farmstead sustained damage from storm 6 miles south of Elgin. Major crop damage from hail and winds, trees broken/uprooted, and hail damage to home.
June 2021Thunderstorm WindElgin-Law Enforcement reported thunderstorm wind gusts of 60 mph.
July 2020Thunderstorm WindElgin-Thunderstorm wind gusts were estimated by the public.
June 2020Thunderstorm WindElgin-Law enforcement estimated thunderstorm wind gusts of 60 mph.
June 2020Thunderstorm WindElgin-Law enforcement estimated thunderstorm wind gusts of 60 mph.
July 2017Thunderstorm WindElgin-Thunderstorm wind gust speeds were estimated by the public.
July 2016Thunderstorm WindElgin-The public estimated thunderstorm wind gusts of 65 mph.
June 2013Thunderstorm WindElgin-Public report of a severe thunderstorm wind gust.
May 2011Heavy RainElgin-A storm total rainfall of 1.50 inches was reported.
July 2010HailElgin-Specific damage estimates from the large hail were not available. This was the first wave of large hail in Elgin for this episode.
July 2010Thunderstorm WindElgin-Strong thunderstorm winds accompanied the large hail.
July 2010Funnel CloudElgin-Elgin fire officials who were out spotting saw a funnel cloud just south of Elgin. The funnel did not reach the surface and quickly retreated back into the storm. The funnel cloud was made visible by lightning.
June 2006Thunderstorm WindElgin-Quarter size hail along with 0.50 inches of rainfall.
June 2005HailElgin-Nickel to golf ball hail.
July 2005Thunderstorm WindElgin-Numerous tree limbs down.
August 2005HailElgin-Report through KFYR-TV.
June 2003Funnel CloudElgin-Several funnel clouds were sighted, one over the city of Elgin and two more 6 and 12 miles north of Elgin.
August 2002HailElgin-Estimated 60 mph winds accompanied the storm which destroyed a silo and damaged several other farm outbuildings. Numerous tree limbs down around Lake Tschida.
July 2001HailElgin-Hail reported over Lake Tschida.
July 2001Flash FloodElgin-Flooding of roads started around 9 pm mdt. rainfall totals of 6 to 7 inches reported.
August 1998HailElgin-hail reported over heart butte dam 14 s glen ullin
August 1997HailElgin-hail covered ground
September 1995Thunderstorm WindElgin-Thunderstorm winds destroyed a 40' by 60' quonset building.
August 1995TornadoElgin-The tornado destroyed an 80-year-old barn. It also carried some hog panels over 100 yards.
July 1994HailElgin-Cropland amounting to 80,000 acres was destroyed.
June 2024HailElgin-no account filed
May 2020HailElgin-no account filed
May 2020HailElgin-no account filed
July 2020HailElgin-no account filed
August 2020HailElgin-no account filed
August 2020HailElgin-no account filed
June 2018HailElgin-no account filed
July 2017HailElgin-no account filed
September 2016HailElgin-no account filed
July 2016HailElgin-no account filed
July 2016HailElgin-no account filed
June 2014HailElgin-no account filed
June 2011HailElgin-no account filed
July 2011HailElgin-no account filed
June 2011HailElgin-no account filed
August 2011HailElgin-no account filed
August 2007Thunderstorm WindElgin-no account filed
August 2006HailElgin-no account filed
August 2006HailElgin-no account filed
September 2005HailElgin-no account filed
July 2005HailElgin-no account filed
August 2004HailElgin-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Grant County

Nearest settlements

The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.

Map PlaceDistance Sheets
New Leipzig5.3 miles5
Heil7.8 miles5
Wollman Ranch Colony10.8 miles7
Leith11.5 miles5
Johnson Ford13.1 miles7
Carson14.9 miles5
Brisbane19.3 miles5
Lark24.1 miles5

Elsewhere

Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.

Wikipedia article on ElginAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q2447026The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0).

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 1028844. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.

Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.