Curated by Mount Vernon-Lisbon Community Development Group
Welcome to the historic city of Mount Vernon! This walking tour highlights some of the historic structures in our Uptown area. Mount Vernon contains three historic districts, including the campus of Cornell College, which is included, in its entirety, on the National Register of Historic Places.
Home to Native Americans for centuries, Linn County was first opened to European settlers in the 1830s, following the Black Hawk War. The first settlers in the area came here to farm the rich rolling Iowa prairie lands, beginning in 1837. The majority of these settlers came from Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois.
In 1840 the federal government hired Lyman Dillon of Cascade, Iowa, to plow a long furrow from Dubuque on the Mississippi River to the new territorial capitol at Iowa City. The roadway that developed along Dillon’s Furrow became known as the Military Road and, later, Highway 1.
At the present site of Mount Vernon the route climbed a steep hill. Because of the strain this climb took on horses and oxen, the top of the hill, approximately where First Street and Highway 1 cross today, became a resting place and, as a result, an ideal location for a new town. At that time, the hill was covered with oaks, elms and linden trees with a spring at the base of the east side from which travelers drank.
During the 1850s Mount Vernon grew into a thriving center of local trade. Stores and businesses lined First Street. In 1853 Mount Vernon citizens, led by Methodist clergyman Elder George Bowman, founded Iowa Conference Male and Female Seminary, which became Cornell College four years later. The arrival of the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad in 1859 and the Lincoln Highway in 1913, helped to secure the economic life of Mount Vernon.
The Mount Vernon Uptown that a visitor sees today was built after a series of disastrous fires in the 1890s that destroyed much of the original, wooden, downtown business district. The new business buildings, made of fireproof brick, stone and steel, have proved to be durable landmarks that continue to serve the needs of Mount Vernon residents, Cornell students, and visitors.
The Mount Vernon Uptown walking tour highlights these landmark buildings, drawing attention to their architecture, and the stories of the men and women who have worked, shopped and lived in these structures through the years. Thank you for coming. We’re glad you’re here.
Commercial District Tour
Odd Fellows Block
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…
Kopf Brothers 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…
Charles Kepler Building
This structure was built in 1892 by attorney Charles Kepler, who leased the lower level to merchants, while maintaining his law office on the second floor. Note the especially large second floor windows which were designed to let lots of natural…
W.E. Platner Hardware Store and Tin Shop
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 hotel in Mount Vernon. Waln’s building burned in 1868 when it was owned by Henry…
Wolfe-Ellison Block
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 designed the original Cedar Rapids Carnegie Public Library and were the…
E.D. Waln Building
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 constructed of soft brick, which was made here in Mount Vernon using a wood…
Old Post Office Building
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…
Mount Vernon Bank Building
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…
Smith-Hogle Building
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…
H.A. Collins Bank-Brackett Building
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…
Third Wolfe Brothers Building
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…
Henry Albright-Dr. F.F. Ebersole House
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…
Office of Drs. Wolfe
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…