The History of Mount Vernon, Texas
Mount Vernon sits in the rolling country of Northeast Texas, the seat of Franklin County and a stop along Interstate 30 between Dallas and Texarkana. Its history runs from a frontier post office through two name changes, a wartime fire, and the railroad to its enduring role as the county seat — anchored today by a restored 1912 courthouse on the square.
Here's how Mount Vernon came to be.
Keith, Lone Star, and the First Settlers
The Mount Vernon area was first settled in the mid-1840s, and Joshua Foster Johnson, who arrived in 1845, is generally recognized as its first settler. The community grew up around a post office established in 1848 with William Stephen Keith as postmaster, and so the place was first known simply as Keith.
In 1850 the settlement was renamed Lone Star. The name Mount Vernon came into common use well before it became official, and the town carried that name through its early decades as a farming and trading center in the wooded, gently rolling country of what would become Franklin County.
Fire, Railroads, and County Seat
Mount Vernon's early growth was not without hardship. In the summer of 1860, during the tensions known as the Texas Troubles, the town was destroyed by fire — but it rebuilt and pressed on. The arrival of the railroads gave it new life: the East Line and Red River Railroad crossed the southeastern part of the county in 1876, and the St. Louis, Arkansas and Texas Railway reached Mount Vernon itself in 1887.
The town's defining moment came in 1875. When Franklin County was organized that spring, an election was held on April 30 to choose a permanent county seat. Mount Vernon's citizens pledged land and money to win the honor, and the town easily defeated its rivals, Mile Post 14 and Mile Post 15. The name was made official that September, and Mount Vernon's future as the county's economic and civic center was secured.
Courthouse Square and a Diversified Economy
As county seat, Mount Vernon became the supply and shipping hub for Franklin County's farmers. The economy rested on agriculture — corn and cotton at first, then a booming peach industry with hundreds of thousands of trees by the 1920s, watermelons in the 1930s, and cane syrup in the 1940s. The 1936 discovery of oil added a new pillar, and oil production, light industry, and farming still mix in the county today.
At the heart of town stands the classical revival courthouse, built of white limestone in 1912 with a chiming clock tower. Restored through the Texas Historic Courthouse Preservation Program to its original grandeur, it presides over a historic downtown square that the town — a designated Texas Main Street City — has worked to preserve and revive. Mount Vernon incorporated in 1910 and has remained the steady, dignified seat of Franklin County ever since.
Timeline
1845
Joshua Foster Johnson arrives and becomes recognized as the area's first settler.
1848
A post office is established under postmaster William Stephen Keith; the community is known as Keith.
1850
The settlement is renamed Lone Star, though the name Mount Vernon would soon come into common use.
1860
The town is destroyed by fire during the Texas Troubles, then rebuilds.
1875
Franklin County is organized; Mount Vernon wins the April 30 election for county seat and the name is made official in September.
1912
The white limestone classical revival courthouse with its chiming clock tower is completed on the square.
Notable People
Don 'Dandy Don' Meredith
Born in Mount Vernon in 1938, the SMU All-American became the Dallas Cowboys' first star quarterback and then a pioneering Monday Night Football analyst alongside Howard Cosell, whose on-air stories about his hometown made Mount Vernon nationally known.
Joshua Foster Johnson
The settler who arrived in 1845 and is generally recognized as the first settler of the Mount Vernon area.
FAQ: History of Mount Vernon
The town was first called Keith, for postmaster William Stephen Keith when the post office was established in 1848, then renamed Lone Star in 1850. The name Mount Vernon came into common use before it was made official in September 1875.
Mount Vernon became county seat in 1875, when Franklin County was organized. In an election held April 30, 1875, the town's citizens pledged land and money and won a large majority, easily defeating rivals Mile Post 14 and Mile Post 15.
Don 'Dandy Don' Meredith, born in Mount Vernon in 1938. He was an SMU All-American, the Dallas Cowboys' first star quarterback, and a Monday Night Football analyst whose frequent on-air mentions of his hometown made Mount Vernon nationally recognized.
The Franklin County Courthouse is a classical revival building of white limestone, built in 1912 with a chiming clock tower. It was restored through the Texas Historic Courthouse Preservation Program to its 1912 grandeur and anchors the historic downtown square.
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