The town was built in 1935 by the mining company Treadwell Yukon to support the development of a new mill for the nearby deposits of silver, lead, and zinc.[11] Treadwell's assets were purchased by United Keno Hill Mines (UKHM) in 1946,[12] and by the 1950s UKHM was the second largest producer of silver in Canada and the fourth largest in the world.[11]
At its peak in the 1960s, Elsa was home to 600 UKHM employees and their families.[12] Due to economic pressure from decreases in the price of silver in the late 1970s, United Keno Hill Mines ceased operations in Elsa in 1989.[13][12] UKHM attempted to sell mining rights to various companies but declared bankruptcy in 1998, with its mining assets reverting to the Government of Canada.[12]
Elsa is now a ghost town and is closed to the public.[1]
^ ab"Population of unincorporated places of 50 persons and over, Alberta, 1961 and 1956". 1961 Census of Canada: Population(PDF). Series SP: Unincorporated Villages. Vol. Bulletin SP—4. Ottawa: Dominion Bureau of Statistics. April 18, 1963. Retrieved February 4, 2022.
^"Population of unincorporated places of 50 persons and over, 1966 and 1961 (Alberta)". Census of Canada 1966: Population(PDF). Special Bulletin: Unincorporated Places. Vol. Bulletin S–3. Ottawa: Dominion Bureau of Statistics. August 1968. Retrieved February 4, 2022.
^"Population of Unincorporated Places of 50 persons and over, 1971 and 1966 (Alberta)". 1971 Census of Canada: Population(PDF). Special Bulletin: Unincorporated Settlements. Vol. Bulletin SP—1. Ottawa: Statistics Canada. March 1973. Retrieved February 4, 2022.
^"Geographical Identification and Population for Unincorporated Places of 25 persons and over, 1971 and 1976". 1976 Census of Canada(PDF). Supplementary Bulletins: Geographic and Demographic (Population of Unincorporated Places—Canada). Vol. Bulletin 8SG.1. Ottawa: Statistics Canada. May 1978. Retrieved February 4, 2022.
^1981 Census of Canada(PDF). Place name reference list. Vol. Western provinces and the Territories. Ottawa: Statistics Canada. May 1983. Retrieved February 4, 2022.