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CHistory
History · Mount Vernon

Mount Vernon’s post office opened in 1861, and 4 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 33% of U.S. towns · #128 of 253 in Virginia. What drives it

Most of Mount Vernon was built recently: 1% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1968. 4 places in town are on the National Register, among them 2 National Historic Landmarks. Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1913 on, and the census since 1980.

1861first post office
4on the National Register
1%homes built before 1940
6old photos & papers
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Mount Vernon’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Mount Vernon began

When was Mount Vernon founded?

1861

The Mount Vernon post office opened in 1861, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 24,058 in 19802020 census: 12,914165 years

How historic is Mount Vernon?

C

More historic than 33% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Mount Vernon post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).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 33% of U.S. towns, #128 of 253 in Virginia. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Mount Vernon’s overall grade.
Founding era1861, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19401.1% of homes (±0.8) · typical VA town 1.9% · U.S. 8.4%DNational Register4 listings, 14 historic buildings, 10.7 per 10,000 residents · typical VA town 3.6 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 33%
NewerOlder
Virginia towns of 2,500+ (253)Ahead of 50%

Virginia towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Virginia town has 3.6 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Mount Vernon’s 10.7 sits near the middle of its state (56% of Virginia towns have fewer) while its 14 historic buildings outnumber those of 78% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to B−. The pre-1940 share (±0.8 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

Founding year: the first post office (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.

Lost villages18 hamlets and corners are still on the map.Boom and bustPeaked at 28,582 in 2000; 12,914 people lived here in 2020.A National Historic Landmark4 places on the National Register, 2 of them National Historic Landmarks.On the map since 19135 editions of the USGS map, 1913 to 1980. Watch Mount Vernon change.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

Old corners and burying grounds

Mount Vernon’s post office has been open since 1861.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Belle RiveMount Vernon ManorNewton WoodsOakwoodRiverside EstatesRiverwoodSouthwoodSulgrave ManorSunnyviewTauxenentVernon SquareWaldon WoodsWessyntonWoodland ParkWoodlawnWoodlawn ManorWoodley HillsYacht Haven
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Mount Vernon
Slave Cemetery - Mount VernonWashington FamilyWoodlawn Baptist Church

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

People over time

Mount Vernon, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,00030,000198020002020Peak: 28,582

Peaked at 28,582 in 2000; 12,914 people lived here in 2020.

5 censuses, 1980–2020.

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

On the National Register

4 historic places in Mount Vernon

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. 2 are National Historic Landmarks, the highest tier.

places listed
4
National Historic Landmarks
2
Mount Vernon
historic buildings protected
14
each building in a district counts
first listed
1966
Mount Vernon
Washington's, George, Distillery and GristmillMount Vernon High SchoolMount Vernon, built 1754★Woodlawn Plantation★
Buildings★ landmark

Architectural styles listings

Georgian1
Palladian1
Federal1
Colonial Revival1
★ Landmark
Mount VernonGeorgian · Built 1754
★ Landmark
Woodlawn PlantationFederal
Washington's, George, Distillery and GristmillColonial Revival
Mount Vernon High SchoolBuilding

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

The story

How Mount Vernon came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Mount Vernon.

Read it all →

The Mount Vernon area is all land which was once a part of the farms of George and Martha Washington's expansive Mount Vernon estate. Much of the land was gradually donated through the dying wishes of George and Martha Washington to the public and others who are affiliated with the Washington family. The Neighboring/incorporated Woodlawn Plantation and area which was given to Martha Washington's granddaughter, Eleanor Parke Custis Lewis. The Gum Springs portion was established by slaves and blacks which were generally escaped or freed slaves from the Mount Vernon Estate and area.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Mount Vernon, 1754 to 2000

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1754BuiltMount Vernon is built
  3. 1773Born hereOna Judge is born here
  4. 19th century
  5. 1800In the archiveMount Vernon in Virginia
  6. 1828In the archiveMount Vernon
  7. 1840In the archiveMount Vernon estate, Virginia
  8. 1861Post officeThe Mount Vernon post office opens
  9. 1865In the archiveMount Vernon
  10. 1895In the archiveMount Vernon
  11. 20th century
  12. 1913On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  13. 1960LandmarkMount Vernon named a National Historic Landmark
  14. 1998LandmarkWoodlawn Plantation named a National Historic Landmark
  15. 21st century
  16. 2000CensusPopulation peaks at 28,582
By decade

Mount Vernon, decade by decade

5 decades in the archive, from the 1800s to the 1890s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1800s–1860s5 items
Mount Vernon in Virginia1800Mount Vernon in VirginiaMount Vernon1828Mount VernonMount Vernon estate, Virginia1840Mount Vernon estate, VirginiaMount Vernon1865Mount VernonMount Vernon, Va1865Mount Vernon, Va
1890s1 item
Mount Vernon1895Mount Vernon
1900s–1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
On the map

Mount Vernon on the map, 1913 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.

Mount Vernon on the 1913 USGS mapMount Vernon on the 1925 USGS mapMount Vernon on the 1944 USGS mapMount Vernon on the 1951 USGS mapMount Vernon on the 1980 USGS map1913Indian Head 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 Mount Vernon.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Mount Vernon in Virginia
Retake this viewMount Vernon in Virginia, 1800

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Mount Vernon’s page.

Retake this view · +15
Help out

Finish Mount Vernon’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewMount Vernon in Virginia: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Hybla Valley1 historic placeC−Fort Belvoir2 historic placesCFort Hunt5 historic placesCWoodlawn1 historic placeC−

Questions about Mount Vernon’s history

What year was Mount Vernon founded?

The Mount Vernon post office opened in 1861, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Mount Vernon rank for history?

Mount Vernon is more historic than 33% of U.S. towns, #128 of 253 in Virginia. 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 of them National Historic Landmarks: 4 buildings, among them the Mount Vernon (a National Historic Landmark since 1960). 14 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Mount Vernon?

1% of Mount Vernon’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 1.9% for a Virginia town; the median home was built in 1968.

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).

From the Library of Congress (6), 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) 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.