Mount Vernon dates to 1805, and 36% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 97% of U.S. towns · #26 of 993 in Ohio. What drives it
8 places in town are on the National Register, among them four historic districts with 308 buildings between them. Below: 12 old photos and papers, maps from 1887 on, and the census since 1810.
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1809.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 97% of U.S. towns, #26 of 993 in Ohio. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its age lowest.
A+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Mount Vernon’s overall grade.
Ohio towns list about as much on the Register as the country (a typical Ohio town has 2.9 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Mount Vernon’s 183 sits above most of its state (96% of Ohio towns have fewer) while its 312 historic buildings outnumber those of 95% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A to A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.0 points). Two sources give 1805.
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, 1887–1913
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.
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.
The community was platted in 1805, and named after Mount Vernon, the estate owned by George Washington.
In May 1953, the telephone exchange for the entire city was destroyed by fire, disrupting calls for months.
In January 1959, a severe flood caused 500 homes to be evacuated and caused $5 million in damage.
The Woodward Opera House, the oldest opera theater of its kind in the United States, is located downtown. The theater, after many years of renovation and restoration, has been transformed into a local cultural and performing-arts center.
Passages that mention Mount Vernon, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Knox County, Ohio, its past and present, containing a condensed, comprehensive history of Ohio, including an outline history of the Northwest1881 · page 207Read the page →
Read the text
On the seventh of June the commissioners "Ordered," that the license of taverns hereafter obtained for one year in this county shall be as follows; In the town of Mount Vernon, on the public square, and on Market street, shall be rated at six dollars ; all taverns in the town of Frederick and in the town of Clinton, and on the road leading from the town of Mount Vernon to Newark, within the county of Knox, at five dollars; all taverns on roads leading through any part of the county,
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Knox County, Ohio, its past and present, containing a condensed, comprehensive history of Ohio, including an outline history of the Northwest1881Read the page →
Read the text
By an act of the legislature, passed February 26, 1845, the town of Mount Vernon, in Knox county, Ohio, was incorporated. In the charter thus granted the town was divided into th'e wards by metes and bounds, and authorized to elect one councilman for each ward, and among other provisions the following is made in reference to the schools : Each ward shall constitute a separate sub-school district of said town, subject to the regulations hereinafter provided. The mayor
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, 1805 to 1926
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
In 1805, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Mount Vernon’s post office opened in 1809, and the census of 1810 counted 314 people here.
How does Mount Vernon rank for history?
Mount Vernon is more historic than 97% of U.S. towns, #26 of 993 in Ohio. 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?
8 listings: 4 buildings, among them the Pennsylvania Depot (listed 1972, the first), and 4 historic districts with 308 contributing buildings. 312 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Mount Vernon?
36% of Mount Vernon’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.0 points), against a typical 15% for an Ohio town; the median home was built in 1955.
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 (5), the National Register of Historic Places (8), 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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