Mound Valley, an incorporated city of Labette county, is located at the junction of the St. Louis & San Francisco and the Missouri Kansas & Texas railroads, on Pumpkin creek in Mound Valley township, 14 miles west of Oswego, the county seat. There are 2 banks, 2 weekly newspapers (the Herald and the Journal), an opera house, a flour mill, a grain elevator, 2 vitrified brick plants and a glass plant. Coal, natural gas, oil and building stone are all found in the vicinity. There are express and telegraph facilities and an international money order postoffice with three rural routes. The population in 1910 was 956.

The town was laid out in 1869 by a town company of which William M. Rodgers was president. A store building was erected immediately by A. Honrath and H. Roar. John P. Kremer started a grocery store, L. F. Nicholas a drug store, Dr. E. Tanner and M. Anderson a general store and R. Blakely opened a grocery store. 1870 J. Campbell built the Mound Valley hotel and L. F. Nicholas, the Nicholas hotel. Owing to the contest between the railroad company and the town company over the title to the land, very little progress was made until the matter was settled in 1876. In that year a stage line was put in operation from Oswego. Until that date the mail had been brought from Oswego on horseback. The postoffice was established in 1870. The first bank was established in 1883. Several fires have occurred, one in 1872, when the town company building with a stock of goods was burned; one in 1889, when a whole block of business buildings was consumed, and a third in 1892, when the grist mill was destroyed. The town was incorporated in 1871, and the following persons were appointed as trustees: Alexander Honrath, William M. Rodgers, John B. Campbell, E. Tanner and Alexander McBride. In 1884 it became a city of the third class, the first election being held in January of that year. E. Tanner was the first mayor and W. N. McCoid, the first clerk.