A history of Mott,
since 1904
Postcards, papers and photographs of Mott from public archives, woven together by decade. Neighbors fill in the gaps.
The story
from WikipediaRead it all ↗Mott was founded in 1904 when the surrounding territory was opened to settlers. There are conflicting stories of how the city was named. One theory is the city was named for Lillian Mott, the secretary of the town promoter, while the competing theory says the city was named for C. W. Mott, a railroad employee. A post office has been in operation at Mott since 1904.
A 1975 F4 tornado struck Mott, killing one and injuring four.
A distinctive symbol for Mott was the art deco arched "rainbow" bridge crossing the Cannonball River to the unincorporated area colloquially known as "West Mott". The arched bridge was damaged beyond repair in a 1997 flood.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Timeline
built from the dates on the items belowFinish Mott’s story
Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.
4 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 🔁Retake an old viewMott Hotel, 1909: stand where they stood+15 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10Famous people from Mott
See all 1 →Mott, decade by decade
1970s
CommonsCENTER PIER AND ARCHES, LOOKING NORTH - Mott Rainbow Arch B…1980
CommonsCENTER PIER AND ARCHES,LLOOKING NORTH - Mott Rainbow Arch B…1980
CommonsCENTER PIER, ARCHES, AND STRINGERS LOOKING SOUTHWEST - Mott…1980
CommonsDETAIL OF ARCH AND STRINGERS LOOKING WEST - Mott Rainbow Ar…1980
CommonsDETAIL OF LIGHTING STANDARD AT SOUTHWEST APPROACH, LOOKING …19801990s
Then & now
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as Mott Hotel (1909) and it appears here side by side.
🔁 Retake this view · +15Stories next door
nearby towns’ historyFrom Wikimedia Commons (6) and the Library of Congress (10). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.