County of city: Jefferson County
Location of city: A touch N. of center in county; crossroads of I-64 and IL-15 then I-57 and IL-37 north-south
Location of county: Center county in lower third of state
Location of courthouse: 100 S. 10th St., Mount Vernon
Elevation: 480 feet (146.3 m)
Population: 15,177 (2014)
"Mt. Vernon was founded in 1817 by Zadok Casey, who was elected to the State Senate in 1822 and was elected Lieutenant Governor in 1833. He served in the U.S. Congress between 1833 and 1843. The town was named for George Washington’s plantation, Mount Vernon, which was named for Edward Vernon, a British naval hero.
"After the state capitol was moved to Vandalia in 1819, it became apparent that a road to Vandalia was needed. After the Vandalia Road was built, Mt. Vernon was “on the map” and was officially incorporated as a city in the State of Illinois. The bridge across Casey Creek and the Vandalia Road provided a much shorter path across Jefferson County than the original Goshen Road. The new Goshen Road soon captured most of the traffic, and Mt. Vernon became an important stop on the road west.
"In 1848, the Illinois Supreme Court was relocated to Mt. Vernon at what is currently 14th and Main Streets. The 5th District Appellate Court was constructed in 1854 according to the National Register of Historic Places and is still in use as the Appellate Court House. When the Supreme Court was in session, the important lawyers in Illinois, including Abraham Lincoln, gathered in Mt. Vernon to argue their cases. The lawyers gathered at the Mt. Vernon Inn, owned by Angus McNeil Grant and his in-laws, the Andersons. This building has been on the National Register of Historic Places since July 2, 1973.
"On February 19, 1888, a tornado cut a path a half mile wide through Mt. Vernon, killing 37 people and destroying more than 450 houses. The Jefferson County Courthouse was destroyed. This event was one of the first disasters to which the American Red Cross responded. Clara Barton herself directed the relief efforts.
"The Mt. Vernon Car Manufacturing Company opened in 1889 after moving from Litchfield, Illinois. This relocation may have been an outgrowth of the relief efforts following the tornado. The Louisville and Nashville Railroad hauled in some 1,900 carloads of supplies for reconstruction of the town. Somehow, this effort translated into a major business building railroad cars, at first building about ten cars per day. By 1909, the car shops were producing 25 cars per day, employing more than 1000 workers, with a payroll of $60,000 per month." ~ City of Mount Vernon