Information about Mt. Vernon, IL and the small, locally-owned businesses located there.

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A little about Mt. Vernon

Welcome to Mt. Vernon, the business, financial, cultural and entertainment center of Jefferson County. Mt. Vernon is just minutes from some of the finest outdoor recreation in the Midwest, the Rend Lake Recreation area, that offers a fishing, boating, and hunting paradise for the outdoor enthusiast. Cultural offerings in Mt. Vernon include the magnificent Cedarhurst Center for the Arts complex that features the art museum, sculpture park, programs and events including the nationally acclaimed Cedarhurst Craft Fair held each fall on the weekend after Labor Day. The Jefferson County Historical Village offers a look back into the history of the settlers of the area and their lifestyle with authentic log cabins and a museum interpretive center.

The history of Mt. Vernon

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. n 1823, Thomas D. Minor and William Maxwell built the "Vandalia Road", now called the "Old Centralia Road." It runs northwest out of Mt. Vernon to Walnut Hill. Although legend says that this road is crooked because of the drunken state of the surveyors, the path is probably just the natural path of a pioneer road following the terrain.

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