Community parade (with band) circa 1905.-- Probably going to the cemetery. Note buildings on the north side of main street between Highway 1 and A Avenue, board sidewalks, and mud streets. Before paving but board sidewalks.

My father, Dr. Tom, designed and built the building in front of you with the help and support of my Uncle John in 1912. The building was a doctor’s office and my father had an actual human skeleton just behind the front door. I remember…

This house was probably built around 1853, the year that Cornell College was founded as the Iowa Conference Male and Female Seminary. The house is Greek revival in design, most clearly evident in the pedimented entry porch with a fan light window.…

The Odd Fellows Block was built in 1904, as noted on its cornerstone. The second floor of the building housed the local chapter of the International Order of Odd Fellows, accessed by a staircase through the door on the left as you face the building.…

This building has historically been known as the Kopf Brothers Building and later, as the Hawkeye Building. The first successful Mount Vernon newspaper, the Mount Vernon Hawkeye, was printed here for many years under the ownership of S.H. Bauman.…

This building is another merchant block that was constructed by a Mr. Thomas and the Wolfe brothers, Thomas and John, who were both local doctors well-known for their real estate dealings. When it was completed in 1894, the building housed a…

H.A. Collins built this fine example of 19th century commercial architecture as a bank in 1891, and the words “Bank 1891” are still clearly visible near the roof. Collins died the next year, and the building was quickly bought by Charles…

Like many other brick buildings in downtown Mount Vernon, the Smith-Hogle building was built after disastrous fires in the downtown in 1893 and 1894. This building is an example of a merchant block, which is a single structure designed to hold two…

This building was originally built as the Mount Vernon Bank in 1891, a date proudly carved on a large block of limestone in the building’s pediment. This structure maintains many original features and was restored in 1995 to be very close to…

A post office, with the name of “Franklin” was established on the farm of Robert Symthe three miles west of Mount Vernon in 1841. In those days mail arrived once a week by horseback. During the 1840s, the office was “passed…