1889 - Jefferson County Courthouse ~ Mount Vernon, IL - Dated Buildings and Cornerstones on Waymarking.com

Plaque Text:

Jefferson County was created on March 26, 1819 (Laws, 1819, p. 51) and was formed from Edwards and White Counties. Present area, or parts of it, formerly included in: Edwards County 1815–1819), White County (1815–1819), Gallatin County (1812–1815), Randolph County (1795–1813), St. Clair County (1790–1803) and Knox, Northwest Territory (1790–1801).

The county of Jefferson was organized in 1819, a few months after Illinois became a state. The new county which bore the name of the author of the Declaration of Independence was to contain sixteen townships.

The next major step after establishing the boundaries of the county was to decide on the county seat of justice was to be. The decision that was to be made was to be permanent. The founding fathers decided that the capital of the newly organized county was to be where the city of Mt. Vernon, Illinois is now located.

It will be interesting to know that Jefferson County was organized much sooner than many of the other counties in Illinois. Marion County, which borders Jefferson County on the north, was not organized until 1823, five years after Congress had admitted the new state.

Mount Vernon has had two names, founders of the newly established hamlet were desirous of giving their new town a name that in their opinion would sound beautiful, and they first named it Mount Pleasant. The center of the hamlet was located on the summit of a slope, and it is believed that this is where they conceived the idea of using the word Mount. The slope mentioned is the location of the Jefferson County Court House.

The name George Washington has always been popular with the American people, and he is the idol of many. Following the war for Independence, the "Father of His Country" and his home at Mt. Vernon, Virginia, were already held in high esteem by the people of the country. Not too long after the hamlet had been given it;s original name, the early inhabitants of the community decided that they wanted their town to be named after the home of their hero. This idea met popular approval of the settlers of the community. As a result of the strong demand for the name to be changed, it was given the official name of Mount Vernon.

The admission of Illinois to the union occurred December 3, 1818, the County of Jefferson was organized March 26, 1819, a period of 113 days later. The official beginning of Mt. Vernon took place June 7, 1819, seventy-three days after the organization; it was only 186 days after the state had officially been admitted to the Union until Mt. Vernon was officially born.

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