 A class school and a "chitalishte" were founded in the late 19th century.Novoseltsi was renamed Elin Pelin in honour of the noted writer of the same name (born in the nearby village of Bailovo) in 1950 and was proclaimed a town in 1960.The area of Elin Pelin is one of the best preserved centres of the traditional ethnocultural subgroup of the Bulgarian people, the Shopi, including its characteristic vernacular, the white clothing and the characteristic dances, songs and humour.