–Not graded

History · Mount Vernon

Mount Vernon’s post office opened in 1881, and 50% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Mount Vernon City Auditorium. Below: maps from 1899 on and the census since 1890.

1881first post office

1on the National Register

50%homes built before 1940

2famous people

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Quick answers

How Mount Vernon began

When was Mount Vernon founded?

1881

The Mount Vernon post office opened in 1881, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Arlandton (1880), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 127 in 18902020 census: 461145 years

Founding year: the first Mount Vernon post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

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.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Mount Vernon are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Old housesHalf of Mount Vernon’s homes were built before 1938.Boom and bustPeaked at 661 in 1920; 461 people lived here in 2020.

★ What stands out · Help out

Start Mount Vernon’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Mount Vernon’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos

00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s

0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.

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The story so far

Mount Vernon, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Mount Vernon yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Mount Vernon is a city in Davison County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 461 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Mitchell, South Dakota Micropolitan Statistical Area. The town takes its name from Mount Vernon, the estate of George Washington; an early variant name was Arlandtown.

Its first post office opened in 1881. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 462 in 2010, 461 in 2020.

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

People over time

Mount Vernon, census by census

Peaked at 661 in 1920; 461 people lived here in 2020.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

Timeline

Mount Vernon, 1880 to 1984

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

19th century
1880Post officeThe Arlandton post office opens
1881Post officeThe Arlandton post office closes
1881Post officeThe Mount Vernon post office opens
1899On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
20th century
1920CensusPopulation peaks at 661
1983Born hereChad Greenway is born here
1984Born hereJoshua Klumb is born here

By decade

Mount Vernon, decade by decade

Today1 recent

2004SDMap-doton-MountVernon

On the map

Mount Vernon on the map, 1899 to 1980

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

1899Mitchell 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 Mount Vernon.

On the National Register

1 historic place in Mount Vernon

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

place listed

National Historic Landmarks

none yet

historic buildings protected

each building in a district counts

first listed

2022

Mount Vernon City Auditorium

Buildings

All 1 listings

Mount Vernon City AuditoriumBuilding · listed 2022

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

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Mount Vernon

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

See all →

Chad GreenwayAmerican football player · b. 1983

Joshua KlumbAmerican politician, businessman, and farmer · b. 1984

Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Mount Vernon’s post office has been open since 1881. Another post office, Arlandton, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Arlandton

1880–1881

Mount Vernon

1881–today

18801950today

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about Mount Vernon’s history

What year was Mount Vernon founded?

The Mount Vernon post office opened in 1881, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Mount Vernon?

One place: the Mount Vernon City Auditorium (listed 2022).

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), 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.

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