Mound City, the county seat of Linn county, is located south and east of the center of the county on the Missouri Pacific R. R. The site was located in 1855 by D. W. Cannon and Ebenezer Barnes and named Mound City from its proximity to Sugar Mound. A town company of 20 members was organized in 1857, with Charles Barnes, president; Dr. J. H. Trego, secretary; T. E. Smith, trustee. The town site, consisting of 240 acres, was surveyed that year by J. N. Roscoe, and the first building, a log cabin, was erected by William Wilson, for a dwelling. The second building was a frame structure used by Mr. Barnes as a store and postoffice, as he was the first postmaster of the town. The first physician to locate in Mound City was Dr. Lee in 1856; the first lawyer, Addison Danford, came a year later. A. A. Johns taught the first school during the winter of 1858-59 in the town hall, which had been erected the previous summer. In 1859 an election was held in the county to determine the permanent location of the county seat. Paris and Mound City were the principal contestants. Mound City received a majority of the votes and was declared the seat of justice, but some of the people were dissatisfied and a second election was held in 1865, at which time Linnville received the majorty of the votes. A year later a third election took place and Mound City again became the county seat. In 1871 the question was again opened, and in February of that year, after an indecisive vote in January, an election was held, at which La Cygne was chosen the county seat. In 1873 Farmers City was made the seat of justice by a majority of the votes cast at an election in an effort to settle the question, but county offices were never opened there and La Cygne retained the seat until 1874, when it was changed to Pleasanton. The next year Mound City again received the majority of the votes and has since remained the judicial seat of the county.

The first religious services were held in 1857 by a United Brethren minister, and within a short time several churches had perfected organizations. In 1871, the town was organized as a city of the third class. Mound City and its vicinity became the headquarters of Jennison and Montgomery (q. v.) during the border war. The citizens rode with these leaders on their forays against the Missourians. Jennison was the first to become established in the town and his name became a terror to the people of Bates and Vernon counties, Mo. Mound City was used as a base from which to strike quickly and get back across the border into some rendezvous before the citizens of Missouri could gather a force and strike back. In Dec., 1860, a company of infantry under Capt. Lyon came to Mound City with orders to capture Capt. Montgomery, who lived about 5 miles up the creek, but when the company arrived Montgomery, who had been notified, was gone.

The Linn County Herald, the first newspaper in the town, made its appearance April 1, 1859. It was owned and edited by Jonathan Lyman. The second paper, the Border Sentinel, was started in 1864 by Snoddy Bros. and was published until 1874, when they moved it to Fort Scott. The Masons established a lodge at Mound City in 1860, and six years later the Independent Order of Odd Fellows established Magnolia lodge there. At the present time Mound City has a number of fine stores, blacksmith and wagon shops, a good hotel, public schools, churches, a creamery, flour mill, and stone quarries. It is located in a rich agricultural district and the shipping point for grain, live stock, flour, and produce. In 1910 the population was 698.