A history of Mount Vernon,
since 1805
Postcards, papers and photographs of Mount Vernon from public archives, woven together by decade. Neighbors fill in the gaps.
The story
from WikipediaRead it all ↗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.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Timeline
built from the dates on the items belowFinish Mount Vernon’s story
Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.
1 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 🔁Retake an old viewLake Hiawatha Park. Mt. Vernon, O…, 1906: stand where they stood+15 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10Famous people from Mount Vernon
See all 35 →
Mount Vernon, decade by decade
1990s
8 historic places in Mount Vernon
Mount Vernon has 8 listings on the National Register, and they protect 312 historic buildings, because North Main-North Gay Streets Historic District alone counts 155.
Where they are
When they were listed
Listed 1972Pennsylvania Depot
Listed 1973Knox County Courthouse
Listed 1975Woodward Opera House
Listed 1976Round Hill
Listed 1987East High Street Historic DistrictListed 1976East Gambier Street DistrictListed 1990North Main-North Gay Streets Historic DistrictListed 2012Downtown Mount Vernon Historic DistrictThen & now
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as Autumn. Gigantic sycamores. An ox team crossing the ford. Owl Creek, Ohio (1841) and it appears here side by side.
🔁 Retake this view · +15From Wikimedia Commons (6). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.