Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Mound Valley

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
–Not graded
History · Mound Valley

Mound Valley dates to 1869, and 39% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1946 on and the census since 1880.

1869founded
0on the National Register
39%homes built before 1940
3famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Mound Valley began, and where its name came from

When was Mound Valley founded?

1869

Mound Valley dates its founding to 1869 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 138 in 18802020 census: 348157 years

How did Mound Valley get its name?

Mound Valley was named from mound-like hills in the vicinity.

Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1870. Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.The full story ↓

What stands out about Mound Valley’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Mound Valley are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 956 in 1910; 348 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Mound Valley’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Mound Valley’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Mound Valley, census by census

02004006008001,00018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 956

Peaked at 956 in 1910; 348 people lived here in 2020.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Mound Valley’s Wikipedia page.

The story

How Mound Valley came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Mound Valley.

Read it all →

Mound Valley was founded in 1869. It was named from mound-like hills in the vicinity.

The first post office in Mound Valley was established in May 1870. Mound Valley was incorporated as a city in 1871. The town was a stop on the Missouri-Kansas-Texas railroad line from 1886 until the 1970s, and was also served by the Frisco Railroad and is currently served by the South Kansas and Oklahoma Railroad, which operates on the Frisco's former tracks.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Mound Valley in 1901

Passages that mention Mound Valley, cut from the printed page as they were published.

]\Iound Valley in 1888. and has been there since that time. He bought his present home in 1890, and in addition to this place owns another house in Mound Valley, which he rents. He also owns a farm in Mound Valley township,— the northwest quarter of section 18, township T,T„ range 18, which he also…
History of Labette County, Kansas1901 · page 708Read the page →
Read the text

]\Iound Valley in 1888. and has been there since that time. He bought his present home in 1890, and in addition to this place owns another house in Mound Valley, which he rents. He also owns a farm in Mound Valley township,— the northwest quarter of section 18, township T,T„ range 18, which he also rents.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
MOUND VALLEY DISTRICT, NO. 40, Is situated in the central-eastern part of Mound Valley township, and includes the town of Mound Valley. This district was formed in the summer of i86q, although there is nothing now on file showing that fact. The first annual report was made August 31, 1870, by Alexa…
History of Labette County, Kansas1901 · page 184Read the page →
Read the text

MOUND VALLEY DISTRICT, NO. 40, Is situated in the central-eastern part of Mound Valley township, and includes the town of Mound Valley. This district was formed in the summer of i86q, although there is nothing now on file showing that fact. The first annual report was made August 31, 1870, by Alexander Honrath, clerk; it shows 33 chil-

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

Mound Valley, 1869 to 1970

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1869
    FoundingMound Valley is established
  3. 1870Post officeThe Mound Valley post office opens
  4. 1879Born hereEvert Sparks is born here
  5. 1886Born hereGeorge Pepperdine is born here
  6. 20th century
  7. 1910CensusPopulation peaks at 956
  8. 1946On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  9. 1970Born hereJames Wesley is born here
By decade

Mound Valley, decade by decade

Today2 recent
Mound Valley Kansas downtown2026Mound Valley Kansas downtownMap of Labette Co, Ks, USA2005Map of Labette Co, Ks, USAMap
On the map

Mound Valley on the map, 1946 to 1974

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Mound Valley. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Mound Valley on the 1946 USGS mapMound Valley on the 1974 USGS map1946Mound Valley sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Mound Valley.

Famous people

3 famous people were born in Mound Valley

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
James WesleyAmerican singer · b. 1970
Evert SparksCanadian politician · b. 1879
G
George PepperdineAmerican businessman and philanthropist · b. 1886

Questions about Mound Valley’s history

What year was Mound Valley founded?

In 1869, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Mound Valley’s post office opened in 1870, and the census of 1880 counted 138 people here.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (2), 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 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.