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History · Monticello

Monticello dates to 1833, and 24% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Lewis County Courthouse. Below: maps from 1903 on and the census since 1870.

1833founded
1on the National Register
24%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Monticello began

When was Monticello founded?

1833

Monticello dates its founding to 1833 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1870.

First census: 301 in 18702020 census: 104193 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1834.The full story ↓

What stands out about Monticello’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 Monticello are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 350 in 1890; 104 people lived here in 2020.On the map since 19034 editions of the USGS map, 1903 to 1986. Watch Monticello change.Deep rootsEstablished in 1833: 193 years of Monticello.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Monticello’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Monticello’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

Monticello, census by census

010020030018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 350

Peaked at 350 in 1890; 104 people lived here in 2020.

16 censuses, 1870–2020.

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

On the map

Monticello on the map, 1903 to 1986

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

Monticello on the 1903 USGS mapMonticello on the 1951 USGS mapMonticello on the 1975 USGS mapMonticello on the 1986 USGS map1903Kahoka sheet · 1:125,000

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

The story

How Monticello came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Monticello.

Read it all →

Following the establishment of Lewis County on January 2, 1833, two commissioners, Stephen Cleaver and Joshua Fensel, were tasked with finding a suitable location for the county seat. They passed on selecting already established villages like Tully and Canton along the Mississippi River and instead selected a location near the geographic center of the new county. An early settler, Andrew P. Williams, donated sixty acres of land and the town was laid out in the fall of 1833. However it would not be surveyed until the next year.

ChaptersThe Civil WarPost-bellum

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Monticello, 1833 to 1926

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1833
    FoundingMonticello is established
  3. 1834Post officeThe Monticello post office opens
  4. 1890CensusPopulation peaks at 350
  5. 20th century
  6. 1903On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1926Born hereRobert Earl Hughes is born here
By decade

Monticello, decade by decade

Today1 recent
MOMap-doton-Monticello2004MOMap-doton-Monticello
On the National Register

1 historic place in Monticello

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
2005
Lewis County Courthouse
Lewis County Courthouse
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Second Empire1
Lewis County CourthouseSecond Empire

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Questions about Monticello’s history

What year was Monticello founded?

In 1833, according to Wikidata. Monticello’s post office opened in 1834, and the census of 1870 counted 301 people here.

What is on the National Register in Monticello?

One place: the Lewis County Courthouse (listed 2005).

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 (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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) 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.