The village was named Helmetune in Anglo Saxon times after the large number of elm trees that were once a major feature.

[10] In 1707, Jedediah Buxton, the legendary mental calculator, was born here (a blue plaque was erected in his honour in 2011 after a public poll).

Once belonging to the Dukes of Portland of Welbeck Abbey, the surrounding tenant farms today form part of the estates of Chatsworth House.

Elmton has been voted Best Small Village in the East Midlands in Bloom competition in 2010, 2011, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 & 2019[13] with a Judges Award in 2011 for measures to protect the Bee Orchid.

The village is also close to the limestone valleys and gorges of Hollinhill and Markland Grips, a nature reserve and Site of Special Scientific Interest managed by Derbyshire Wildlife Trust.

On 17 November 2012, residents planted a sapling on the village green from an elm that withstood the disease in honour of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee.