City of Mount Vernon, Ohio

The settlement of Mount Vernon was established in 1805 by Joseph Walker, Thomas B. Patterson and Benjamin Butler. The county (Knox) was organized in 1808. The inhabitants were from Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. In honor of the general, and President, the community was named after George Washingtons famous home. The town was platted in 1805. Mount Vernon became a Village in 1830, a town in 1845 and a city in 1880. Mount Vernon has developed into a thriving community. The downtown has been, and continues to be, renovated with the exterior facades rehabilitated and a vigorous effort to maintain and preserve the many older buildings in the area. Mount Vernon is in the process of renovating the Woodward Opera House, the oldest known free-standing opera house in the nation. Mount Vernon is the birthplace of Daniel Decatur Emmett, author of Dixie and many other songs of the mid-1800s. Dan Emmett is buried in Mound View Cemetery. In 1965 Look Magazine named Mount Ver...