Mount Vernon dates to 1788, and 18% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 92% of U.S. towns · #120 of 593 in Indiana. What drives it
4 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 193 buildings between them. Below: 11 old photos and papers, maps from 1887 on, and the census since 1850.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1818.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Mount Vernon’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Mount Vernon is more historic than 92% of U.S. towns, #120 of 593 in Indiana. All 2 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Mount Vernon’s overall grade.
Indiana towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Indiana town has 7.9 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Mount Vernon’s 308 sits above most of its state (92% of Indiana towns have fewer) while its 197 historic buildings outnumber those of 93% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1788.
How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.0 points).
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 →
What stands out about Mount Vernon’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Every building
Mount Vernon, building by building, 1887–1907
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
Mount Vernon is the county seat and largest city in Posey County, named for General Thomas Posey, Governor of the Indiana Territory. He grew up at a plantation adjacent to George Washington's Mount Vernon. He was widely rumored to be Washington's illegitimate son, but this was dismissed by Posey's biographer, John Thornton Posey, a descendant.
The first settler in Mount Vernon was Andrew McFaden in 1806, and the settlement was called McFaden's Bluff. It was platted as Mount Vernon in 1816, but continued to be known as McFadden's Bluff for some time. It was named in honor of Washington's Mount Vernon. A post office called Mount Vernon has been in operation since 1818.
Passages that mention Mount Vernon, cut from the printed page as they were published.
Last will and testament of George Washington, of Mount Vernon1911Read the page →
Read the text
And on the 19th day of March, 1858, was, by said Legislature, amended as follows, viz: 1. Be it enacted by the general assembly, tint the act entitl* ! m act lo incorporate the "Mount Vernon Ladies' Association of the Union" and to authorize the purchase of a part of Mount Vernon, passed March 17, 1856, be amended and re-enacted so as to read as follows: "§ 1. The Mount Vernon Ladies' Association of the Union as here-
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Last will and testament of George Washington, of Mount Vernon1911Read the page →
Read the text
to sell the property to the U. S. Government.* In 1855, Mrs. Ann Pamelia Cunningham and other ladies conceived the plan of forming an association, the object of which should be the purchase of Mount Vernon, or that portion including the dwelling, tomb, and present steamboat landing. In the Spring of 1856, the matter was brought before the Legislature of Virginia, then in session, and on the 17th March, 1S56, the association was incorporated as " Tee Mount Vernon Ladies' Association of the Union," and is as follows,
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Mount Vernon, 1788 to 1937
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
In 1788, according to Wikidata. Mount Vernon’s post office opened in 1818, and the census of 1850 counted 1,120 people here.
How does Mount Vernon rank for history?
Mount Vernon is more historic than 92% of U.S. towns, #120 of 593 in Indiana. 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.
What is on the National Register in Mount Vernon?
4 listings: 2 buildings, among them the William Gonnerman House (listed 1985, the first), and 2 historic districts, the Welborn Historic District and the Mount Vernon Downtown Historic District, with 193 contributing buildings. 197 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Mount Vernon?
18% of Mount Vernon’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.0 points), against a typical 14% for an Indiana town; the median home was built in 1968.
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 (7), the Library of Congress (11), the National Register of Historic Places (4), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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