Elk City, an incorporated town of Montgomery county, is a station on the Missouri Pacific and on the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe railroads, 13 miles northwest of Independence. It has natural gas for heating, lighting and commercial purposes. There is a brick and tile manufacturing works, a flour mill, a weekly newspaper, one state and one national bank. The town is supplied with express and telegraph offices and has an international money order postoffice with 6 rural routes. The population according to the 1910 census was 659.

Elk City is the oldest town in Montgomery county, being an outgrowth of the trading post established at that point by John Kappel in 1868. A town company was formed the same year and the site located. A. E. Baird put in a stock of general merchandise and in 1870 M. D. Wright, who had brought a stock of notions with him in his prairie schooner opened the third store. A. R. Quigg started a hardware store. The first saw mill was built in 1869 by S. B. Davis, T. J. Brown and Samuel Maples. The first blacksmith shop was built by J. P. Morgan. The first death as well as the first birth was in the Hammond family. In April, 1869, a son was born to Thomas and Bertha Hammond. The child was killed by accident the same month. Thomas Hammond was shot and killed by a man by the name of Morrison in a quarrel over a plow.

In 1870 the Elk City postoffice was established with William H. H. Southard as postmaster. The next year the town was incorporated as a city of the third class. The first election resulted in the choice of the following officers: Mayor, Herbert Prentis; police judge, James Smith; councilmen, Uri Coy, J. Baldwin, William H. H. Southard, W. W. Woodring and A. R. Quigg.

The first school was taught in a log school house by William Osborne in 1869. The first bank was established by E. E. Turner in 1881. Prior to 1882 three attempts had been made to establish newspapers. A brick yard and a flour mill had been put in operation.

In 1902 a company was organized to prospect for gas, which was found after several failures. Several companies are now operating in the vicinity and a number of fine oil wells, as well as gas wells are producing.