Historic Districts Archives - Mount Vernon Iowa History Tours

Smith-Hogle Building

A wide red brick 2-story building with very large display windows on the ground floor and tall thin windows on the second floor. It has a 3 door entrance in the center, the doors on the left and right go to the ground floor commercial spaces, the one in the middle goes upstairs to the residential space.

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 …

Quicklinks: Video | Photos | Map Down the hill from the Thomas Commons sits the building known today as McWethy Hall, home to the Cornell College art department and the …

113 First Street West – H. A. Collins Bank - Brackett Building is a tall 2-story red brick building that stretches back into the alley. At the top of the building are the words "BANK 1891". Portions of the building is decoratively banded with limestone. The street level is commercial, the second level is residential.

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 …

A sprawling large 2-story home with a tower that provides a 3rd floor, plus windows appear in the roof of the tower hinting at living space there as well. The home is an attractive light yellow-cream color with white trim. There is a large covered front porch. Attractive hanging plants and shrubs are on display around the home.

Quicklinks: Photos | Map & Directions Shall we compare you to a modern manse?Your recent renovation is on view,No hint of past encumbrance at first glance,Nor echoes of the problems …

A gray single story two store building with entrances to each store in the center of the building. Both commercial spaces have red entrance doors, large display windows with red awnings to provide shade. The building has a lot of decorative pressed tin on the upper section.

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 …

617 7th Avenue NW, front side view. A tall 2-story home with dark slate blue/purple siding with gray trim accented with large bargeboard peak decorations and yellow fish scale siding on the roof gables. The front covered porch has a 2nd-story "sleeper porch" above.

Quicklinks: Photos | Map & Directions The current owner of 617 7th Ave NW, Cheryl Russell, has said that she loves coming home to the beauty of this Victorian, which …

110 First Street W., the Kopf Brothers building. A 2-story brick building along side the north-south pedestrian alley. The lower level is a modern bright red facade for a commercial space with expansive display windows. The upper level has three tall narrow windows and is reached by a stairwell doorway on the left side. In front of the building is a stone bench.

This building has historically been known as the Kopf Brothers Building and later, as the Hawkeye Building. The first successful Mount Vernon newspaper …

Side view of 616 7th Ave. A 2-story home, gray with white trim and a dark gray shingled gambrel roof. This photo also shows part of a large covered front porch with hanging plants, as well as a featured bay window on the left side wall with well tended shrubs nearby.

Quicklinks: Photos | Map & Directions Old homes will always have their quirks and often need a great deal of upkeep, but this one, located at 616 7th Ave NW, …

124 First Street W., The Odd Fellows Block. Sitting on a corner lot, this large 2-story red brick building stretches south into the alley. The lower level is commercial with huge display windows that wrap around the front and right side corner of the building. The upper level has several tall windows to let light into the residential area. There are 2 doorways on the left side, the rightmost is to enter the commercial space, the leftmost leads up a stairwell to the residential space. The roof is pitched from front to back with decorative brick arches adorning the front and part of the side of the building. Limestone foundation and some limestone decorative strips can be seen as well.

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 …

Ash Park 703 6th Ave NW. This is a 2-story Queen Anne home with a large tower and a broad covered porch. The home is blue with white trim. The grounds are pleasantly planted with shrubs and flowers.

Quicklinks: Photos | Map & Directions The blue Victorian home at 703 6th Ave NW was built in 1896 by Cornell music Professor William B. Van Valkenberg, and is the …

224 1st St. SW, Henry Albright - Dr. F.F. Ebersole House. A large 2-story brick home with green shutters and a light gray shingled roof. The house sits on a corner lot and comes nearly right up to the sidewalk, with a tiny covered entryway shown in this photo.

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 …

717 6th Avenue NW. A 2-story Victorian home with a huge covered wraparound porch which covers a huge bay window which is the lower part of 2-story tower design feature. There are many flower beds and shrubs surrounding the porch. The home is painted a deep green color with white trim and accents, the roof is a light gray shingle. The entrance to the home is almost hidden from view and sits back on the right side of the porch. There is also a view of the garage to the back and right of the home, also painted in the same color as the home.

Quicklinks: Photos | Map & Directions The home at 717 6th Ave NW belongs to one of the founders of the Mount Vernon Historic Preservation Commission. It is therefore in …

311 1st Street NW. Office of Drs. Wolfe. A 1-story white stone building with a red tiled roof. It has a large covered front porch / entryway. A single large display window fills the front with a single carved wooden door on the left of the window. There are 4 Romanesque pillars that hold up the roof of the covered front porch. The words "Mount Vernon Visitors Center" are displayed above the front porch entrance.

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 …

Quicklinks: Photos | Map & Directions 724 5th Ave NW is a cream-colored home with red trim, rectangular windows, and a turret facing the street, but it didn’t always live …

Quicklinks: Video | Photos | Map Rebuilt after a devastating fireRich in traditionCornell’s first buildingWill stand to welcome generationsof future college studentslong after most of us are gone. – The …

525 6th Street side view. A 2 story home with pale yellow siding, a tan shingled roof and two porches (1 in back and 1 in front). There are also some bicycles and a hammock in the back yard.

Quicklinks: Photos | Map & Directions The house at 525 6th St NW features large porches, a unique geometric porch skirt, and gingerbread trim. Constructed in the 1880s, it is …

Quicklinks: Photos | Map & Directions From the beginning of the discussions, trustees referred to the new building as the “college edifice,” meaning that its intended use was to house …

Front view of 603 6th Street NW. A classic Victorian 2-story home with white siding, slate blue shutters, fish scale decorative shingles surrounding a small ornate window on the attic front gable and a small covered front porch decorated with dentils along the porch roof.

Quicklinks: Photos | Map & Directions The eye-catching small ornate window, or oculus, in the front gable of 603 6th St NW, is an arresting architectural element. The home’s decorative …

Quicklinks: Photos | Map & Directions That whereas it has been found necessary, in order to conform to the wishes and conditions of Mr. Carnegie, in making the donation of …

Large 2-story red brick building sitting on a corner lot at the intersection of highway 1 and 1st St. There are two commercial spaces on the ground floor with huge display windows on each. One door on the left side - to the first commercial space, in the center is a stairwell going upstairs to the residential spaces, to the right of the stairwell is another door into the other commercial space. There are many tall windows in the second floor with arched tops and decorative brickwork.

This building was built in 1893 and was originally known as the Wolfe-Ellison Block, designed by the architectural firm of Joselyn and Taylor of Cedar Rapids. Joselyn and Taylor …

A large 2-story home with lots of windows sits just up the sidewalk from you. There are several trees nearby casting shade. The home is a dark gray-green with white trim. Near the entrance is a sign that says "Brackett House".

Quicklinks: Photos | Map & Directions Quiet hours are from 11:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m.An alarm clock may be obtained from the hostess.The use of alcoholic beverages is not permitted.Check-out …

The E.D. Waln Building, 101 - 103 1st Street W. A 2-story large brick building with decorative elements above the 2nd story windows and at the roof line of the building. The building is divided into 2. There are individual commercial spaces on the ground floor, each with large display windows. A doorway in the center of the building leads to the upstairs, presumably residential apartments.

This building was constructed by E.D. Waln, in 1881. It is probably the second building on this site, known locally as “the Waln Corner.” The Waln Building is …

Quicklinks: Video | Photos | Map You are defeated once. Die once. But every defeat, every humiliation, every death I have ever seen or imagined is mine. I am the …

A 2-story light red brick building with one commercial space on the ground floor and a residential space above. There are very large display windows on the ground floor with three tall narrow windows on the second floor. There is a single door in the center on the ground floor leading into the commercial space.

The first building on this site was a frame hotel built by Elisha Waln in 1849. Named the “Mount Vernon House,” it was probably the first commercial …

Quicklinks: Video | Photos | Map I prefer to speak of South Hall as the “grande dame” of the humanities… Queen of languages, philosophy, political science, and literature. To me …

This structure was built in 1892 by attorney Charles Kepler, who leased the lower level to merchants, while maintaining his law office on the …

A paved pathway leads past a large shade tree, behind the tree is a small single story slate blue house with white trim and a gray roof.

Quicklinks: Photos | Map & Directions A lot of students came from all over the country and needed a place. People didn’t do well if they didn’t have a place …

105 First Street W., the Old Post Office. is a tall and narrow 2-story red brick building with some ornate brick and limestone accents. The lower level has a single large display window flanked on either side by a door. The door on the left enters the commercial space. The door on the right enters a stairwell to the upstairs residential area. The commercial facade is painted in various shades of green with a pale yellow for the trim. The upstairs has 3 tall narrow windows with decorative brickwork detailing and limestone features.

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 …

Quicklinks: Photos | Map & Directions Grand! Magnificent! Beautiful! Are some of the exclamations indulged in, when viewing the elevation picture of the new college chapel. -The Mount Vernon Hawk-Eye, …

107 1st Street W, Mount Vernon Bank. A tall narrow 2-story red brick building. It has horizontal decorative limestone sections at the top and bottom of the 2nd story windows, with more on the very top of the building. At the top a smaller section with "1891" is shown, also in limestone. There is one doorway on the left into the building, it appears to split to the right into the commercial space and upstairs to the residential area.

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 …

A tall expansive red brick residence hall with 3-stories plus attic used for dorm rooms. Shows a brick covered front porch as the main entrance. The windows are tall and thin. This is a view from the north east.

Quicklinks: Photos | Map & Directions Then I recall the many facets of my work-study job at the Bowman reception desk. It was a great place to keep up with …

Historic Districts

Smith-Hogle Building

McWethy Hall

H.A. Collins Bank-Brackett Building

Garner President’s House

Third Wolfe Brothers Building

617 7th Ave NW

Kopf Brothers Building

616 7th Ave NW

Odd Fellows Block

703 6th Ave NW

Henry Albright-Dr. F.F. Ebersole House

717 6th Ave NW

Office of Drs. Wolfe

724 5th Ave NW

Old Sem

525 6th St NW

College Hall

603 6th St NW

Norton Geology – Carnegie Library

Wolfe-Ellison Block

Brackett House

E.D. Waln Building

The Van Etten-Lacey House

W.E. Platner Hardware Store and Tin Shop

South Hall

Charles Kepler Building

BACO House

Old Post Office Building

William Fletcher King Memorial Chapel

Mount Vernon Bank Building

Bowman-Carter Hall