Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 50% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Most of Mount Vernon was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1984. Its Register listing is the Montgomery County Courthouse. Below: 1 old photo or paper from 1940 on.
Mount Vernon dates its founding to 1797 (Wikidata). Its post office opened in 1811.
More historic than 50% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Mount Vernon is more historic than 50% of U.S. towns. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
Georgia towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Georgia town has 10.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Mount Vernon’s 5.2 sits near the middle of its state (45% of Georgia towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.
Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Mount Vernon’s history is told.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
In the archiveGeorgia [Effingham County (part) - Newton County (part)From Wikipedia’s history of Mount Vernon.
Mount Vernon was founded in 1797. It became the county seat in 1813, replacing the plantation of Arthur Lott. It was incorporated as a town in 1872 and as a city in 1960. The city is named after Mount Vernon, the estate of George Washington.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
One decade in the archive so far: the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Mount Vernon’s page.
Retake this view · +15The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
In 1797, according to Wikidata. Mount Vernon’s post office opened in 1811.
Mount Vernon is more historic than 50% of U.S. towns. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
One place: the Montgomery County Courthouse (listed 1980).
4% of Mount Vernon’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.0 points), against a typical 3.8% for a Georgia town; the median home was built in 1984.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From Wikimedia Commons (6), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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