city, seat (1819) of Jefferson county, southern Illinois, U.S. Lying at the junction of two interstate highways, Mount Vernon is located about 80 miles (130 km) southeast of St. Louis (Saint Louis), Missouri. Founded in 1819, it was initially to be named Mount Pleasant but, after intense debate, was named instead for George Washington (Washington, George)'s home (see Mount Vernon) in Virginia. The Illinois Supreme Court was located in Mount Vernon (1856–96), and Abraham Lincoln (Lincoln, Abraham) argued and won a tax case there in 1859. A railway link (1872) spurred industrial development, with the establishment of mills, foundries, and breweries. In 1888 Mount Vernon was devastated by a tornado that destroyed some 500 buildings, but the city was quickly rebuilt. During the first half of the 20th century, Mount Vernon was a major producer of railroad cars. The city is now an agricultural (soybeans) and distribution centre, and coal mining, oil production, and tire manufacturing contribute to the local economy. Local varieties of wines are also produced. Cedarhurst, an arts centre sited on 85 acres (35 hectares), contains an art museum, a sculpture park, and nature trails and hosts music and theatre productions. The city also features a historical village with log cabins, a blacksmith's shop, and a log jail. Rend Lake (community) College (1967) is in nearby Ina. Rend Lake, Wayne Fitzgerrell State Park, and a state fish and wildlife area are south of the city. Inc. town, 1837; city, 1872. Pop. (1990) 16,988; (2000) 16,269.

city, Westchester county, New York, U.S., situated on the Bronx and Hutchinson rivers, just north of the Bronx, New York City. It was settled in 1664 near the site where religious dissenter Anne Hutchinson (Hutchinson, Anne) (banished from the Massachusetts Bay Colony) was killed in 1643 by Indians. It became a farm village (considered part of Eastchester township), the meeting house of which was the scene of the election of Lewis Morris to the provincial assembly in 1733. Colonial governor William Cosby's persistent opposition to Morris was reported by the antigovernment newspaper of John Peter Zenger (Zenger, John Peter), whose subsequent trial for seditious libel was the first major victory for the principle of freedom of the press in the American colonies. Mount Vernon was the scene of several battles during the American Revolution, including a delaying action by Glover's Brigade on October 18, 1776, which probably saved General George Washington (Washington, George)'s army from defeat by General William Howe (Howe, William Howe, 5th Viscount). The village's growth was assured when the Industrial Home Association, a cooperative group seeking relief from high New York City rents, purchased land for home sites there in the early 1850s and named the community for Washington's home. Diversified industrial development includes the manufacture of jewelry, automatic fire sprinklers, and packaging materials. A dredged portion of the Hutchinson River serves as a port.

St. Paul's Church (1763), used during the Revolution as a British military hospital, was dedicated a national historic site in 1943. Inc. village, 1853; city, 1892. Pop. (1990) 67,153; (2000) 68,381.

city, seat (1808) of Knox county, central Ohio, U.S. It lies along the Kokosing River, about 45 miles (70 km) northeast of Columbus. John Chapman (Johnny Appleseed), the orchardist, owned several lots in the original settlement that was laid out in 1805. The settlement was incorporated as a city in the same year and named for its location on a height by the river (then called Vernon but now known by its Native American name). Mount Vernon is the centre for an area of general farming (livestock, corn 【maize】, soybeans) and of oil and natural gas production. Livestock auctions are held regularly in the city. Manufactures include electrical transmission equipment, automotive parts, conveyor systems, compressors, and paper products. Daniel Decatur Emmett (Emmett, Daniel Decatur), the composer of “Dixie” and other well-known songs, was born and died in Mount Vernon, and Mary Ann Bickerdyke, a pioneering war nurse in the service of the Union armies during the American Civil War, was born on a nearby farm. Mount Vernon Nazarene University was founded in 1968, and Kenyon College (1824) is in nearby Gambier. The Woodward Opera House (1851), one of the oldest theatres in the United States, is located in the city's downtown. Pop. (2000) 14,375; (2005 est.) 16,000.

After Lawrence's death in 1752, George inherited the property; but because of military service he did not take up residence until January 1759, when he married Martha (Dandridge) Custis. During the next 15 years he enlarged the house, added smaller wings, erected several of the outbuildings, and expanded the gardens. He also tried crop rotation and other agricultural experiments on the plantation. Again called into public service, it was not until December 1783, when he tendered his resignation to Congress as commander in chief of the Continental Army, that he again settled at Mount Vernon. But in 1789 his plantation life was again interrupted when he became the first president of the United States. From 1797 until his death (December 14, 1799) he lived at Mount Vernon. At his death, a life interest in the place went to his widow. The estate then passed to his nephew, Bushrod Washington, and from Bushrod it descended to John Augustine Washington, Jr., who was authorized by will to sell it to the U.S. government, which refused to buy the property.

In 1853 Ann Pamela Cunningham of South Carolina organized the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association of the Union, which raised about $200,000 and purchased the house and 200 acres (80 hectares) of the original estate in 1858. The association, under its charter, was bound to restore and maintain the estate, which was designated a national registered historic landmark; the state of Virginia agreed to exempt the estate from taxation so long as these terms were fulfilled. Washington's home, gardens, family cemetery, and outbuildings comprise what is considered America's first historical tourist attraction.