Mount Vernon is an extinct town from the former

Jefferson Territory The Territory of Jefferson was an extralegal and unrecognized United States territory that existed from October 24, 1859 until the creation of the Colorado Territory on February 28, 1861. The Jefferson Territory, named for Founding Father and Un ...

, the site of which is located in present-day

Jefferson County, Colorado Jefferson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 582,910, making it the fourth-most populous county in Colorado. The county seat is Golden, and the most populous city is Lakewood. ...

. Mount Vernon was founded in 1859 by Dr. Joseph Casto who followed the gold rush to Colorado in 1858. He did not find gold, but decided to establish a town between the mining camps and the city of

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

. With three other men, he founded the Denver, Auraria, and Colorado Wagon Company in December of 1859. Mount Vernon House

After gold ore was discovered near

Central City In urban planning, a core city, principal city metropolitan core, or central city, is the largest or most important city or cities of a metropolitan area. A core city is surrounded by smaller satellite cities, towns, and suburbs. A central city ...

in 1859, a trail was established through Mount Vernon. It was a main route into the mountain. A toll road that passed through Mount Vernon and through Mount Vernon Canyon was built by the wagon company, and then purchased in 1880 by Jefferson County and no longer requiring a toll to use the road. The road became U.S. 40, and then

Interstate 70 Interstate 70 (I-70) is a major east–west Interstate Highway System, Interstate Highway in the United States that runs from Interstate 15, I-15 near Cove Fort, Utah, to a park and ride lot just east of Interstate 695 (Maryland), I-695 in ...

. At its height, there were about 200 people who lived in the town, but by 1885 it only had 50 residents. One of the town's citizens was

Robert Williamson Steele Robert Williamson Steele (January 14, 1820 – February 7, 1901) was governor of the extralegal Territory of Jefferson, which existed in the western United States from 1859 to 1861, when it was replaced by the Territory of Colorado. Early life ...

, the governor of

, who often worked out of his Mount Vernon house. The town had its own post office, two hotels, homes, and a store. It was described as a "beautiful and romantic village...

ith The Ith () is a ridge in Germany's Central Uplands which is up to 439 m high. It lies about 40 km southwest of Hanover and, at 22 kilometres, is the longest line of crags in North Germany. Geography Location The Ith is immediatel ...

a number of neat and tidy houses." The town had a gypsum deposit and it had limestone and lime kilns. The town was abandoned over time. Its cemetery, which still exists on the Village Trail within the Jefferson County Open Space. With a grave stone dated 1860, it is one of the oldest cemeteries in the state.

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