Mount Vernon is a city in and the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

of Jefferson County, Illinois, United States. The population was 14,600 at the 2020 census. Mount Vernon is the principal city of the Mount Vernon Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Jefferson and

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

counties.

History

19th century

Mt. Vernon was founded in 1817 by

Zadok Casey Zadok Casey (March 7, 1796 – September 4, 1862) was an American politician who served as a U.S. representative from Illinois and founded the city of Mount Vernon. Biography Zadok Casey was born in Greene County, Georgia. Not much is know ...

, 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 George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...

's plantation, Mount Vernon, which was named for

Edward Vernon Admiral Edward Vernon (12 November 1684 – 30 October 1757) was an English naval officer. He had a long and distinguished career, rising to the rank of admiral after 46 years service. As a vice admiral during the War of Jenkins' Ear, in 1 ...

, a British naval hero. When the town was founded, there was no road to it. Travelers had to get there by either following the high ground from the north or crossing the swamps from the south. In the early 19th century the

Goshen Road Goshen Road was an early road that ran from Old Shawneetown, Illinois, on the Ohio River, northwest to the Goshen Settlement, near Glen Carbon, Illinois, near the Mississippi River. In the early 19th century, this was the main east/west road in Illi ...

crossed Illinois in a northwesterly direction from Old Shawneetown, Illinois to the

Goshen Settlement The Goshen Settlement was an early American pioneer settlement in what is now Illinois, USA, located to the east of St. Louis, Missouri. The settlement was located about one mile (1.6 km) southwest of modern Glen Carbon, Illinois, at the point ...

, near what is now Edwardsville. This road was the main road in Illinois. When Mt. Vernon was first settled, the Goshen Road made a wide arc across Jefferson County, crossing Casey Creek and the Big Muddy north of Mt. Vernon, avoiding the swamps to the south, but bypassing Mt. Vernon. The road entered the county at its southeast corner. It passed through, or near, what are now Opdyke, East Salem, Idlewood,

Dix DIX or Dix may refer to: Computing * Danish Internet Exchange Point, in Copenhagen * Data Integrity Extensions, data corruption error-handling field in data storage technology * Device Independent X, part of the 2D graphics device driver in ...

and Walnut Hill. However, it was apparent to the early settlers that the town would fail without roads. In 1820–1821, Ben Hood and Carter Wilkey built a bridge over Casey Creek, to the southeast of town. This bridge was near the present bridge on Illinois Route 142. A road was built from there northwest, over ground that is now impassable, toward the old cemetery behind the modern Bethel Cemetery. Deep cuts through the old cemetery attest to the location of the road. From there the road probably followed modern Route 37 into town, somewhere shifting from 10th Street on west to 12th Street. After the state capital was moved to Vandalia in 1819, it became apparent that a road to Vandalia was needed. A party was sent out to the northwest to mark the road. In 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. After the bridge and the Vandalia Road were built, Mt. Vernon was "on the map." The bridge across Casey Creek and the Vandalia Road provided a much shorter path across Jefferson County than the original Goshen Road. The new Goshen Road soon captured most of the traffic, and Mt. Vernon became an important stop on the road west. In 1836, Joshua Grant came to Mt. Vernon from Christian County, Kentucky with several of his sons and daughters. His family was a wealthy slave-owning family, most of whom soon moved to

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...

, probably because slavery was illegal in Illinois. Joshua left behind several daughters and one son, Angus McNeil Grant, who soon became important in the development of the town. "Upon his arrival, there were but four or five houses in the place, and from that time to the present (1883) he has constantly and ably exerted himself in securing to it the full development of its resources." Angus M. Grant's brother, Joshua Jr. taught school in Mt. Vernon in 1838. Some sources cite him as the first schoolteacher in the town. In 1848, in accordance with the new constitution of Illinois, the Illinois Supreme Court first Grand Division was relocated to Mt. Vernon. There were three divisions total comprised for the first (southern), second (central) and third (northern) areas of the state. The

5th District Appellate Court The 5th District Appellate Court is located in Mount Vernon, Illinois, an incorporated town in Jefferson County. The building was originally constructed for the southern division of the Illinois Supreme Court, which was created by the 1848 Illin ...

was constructed in 1854 and is still in use as the Appellate Court House. When the Supreme Court was in session, the important lawyers in Illinois, including

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...

, gathered in Mt. Vernon to argue their cases. The lawyers gathered at the Mt. Vernon Inn, owned by Angus McNeil Grant and his in-laws, the Andersons. This building has been on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

since July 2, 1973. In the 1870s, Mt. Vernon for a time prohibited the sale of alcohol. A village called "East Mt. Vernon" was organized in 1877 to allow the sale of alcohol. A court fight eventually held that the village was organized illegally. Mt. Vernon then voted alcohol back in, and the area of East Mt. Vernon was annexed into the city. On February 19, 1888, a tornado cut a path a half mile wide through Mt. Vernon, killing 37 people and destroying more than 450 houses. The Jefferson County Courthouse was destroyed. This event was one of the first disasters to which the

American Red Cross The American Red Cross (ARC), also known as the American National Red Cross, is a non-profit humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief, and disaster preparedness education in the United States. It is the desi ...

responded.

Clara Barton Clarissa Harlowe Barton (December 25, 1821 – April 12, 1912) was an American nurse who founded the American Red Cross. She was a hospital nurse in the American Civil War, a teacher, and a patent clerk. Since nursing education was not then very ...

herself directed the relief efforts. The Mt. Vernon Car Manufacturing Company opened in 1889 after moving from Litchfield, Illinois. This relocation may have been an outgrowth of the relief efforts following the tornado. The

Louisville and Nashville Railroad The Louisville and Nashville Railroad , commonly called the L&N, was a Class I railroad that operated freight and passenger services in the southeast United States. Chartered by the Commonwealth of Kentucky in 1850, the road grew into one of the ...

hauled in some 1,900 carloads of supplies for reconstruction of the town. Somehow, this effort translated into a major business building railroad cars, at first building about ten cars per day. By 1909, the car shops were producing 25 cars per day, employing more than 1000 workers, with a payroll of $60,000 per month.

20th and 21st centuries

During World War II, portions of the "Car Shops", as they had to come to be known, were converted over to wartime production, including the production of bomb casings. Around 1939, a portion of the car shops was purchased by Precision Engineering, which originally built components for locomotives. During the 1970s, this company purchased old diesel/electric railroad locomotives, which it scrapped out or refurbished. Today, the plant thrives as a hub for National Railway Equipment Company which rebuilds and services diesel electric locomotives for rail lines across the globe. In 1954, the car shops closed, causing a temporary jump in unemployment throughout the city and the 108 communities called "home" by its former employees. The

Interstate Highway System The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly known as the Interstate Highway System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National Highway System in the United States. Th ...

was built in the late 1950s and 1960s. The

concurrency Concurrent means happening at the same time. Concurrency, concurrent, or concurrence may refer to: Law * Concurrence, in jurisprudence, the need to prove both ''actus reus'' and ''mens rea'' * Concurring opinion (also called a "concurrence"), a ...

of I-57 and I-64 is along the western border of the ridgeline which divides the

Big Muddy River The Big Muddy River is a river in southern Illinois. It joins the Mississippi River just south of Grand Tower. The Big Muddy has been dammed near Benton, forming Rend Lake. The Big Muddy has a mud bottom for most of its length. Hydrography T ...

and Casey Creek. The

stack interchange A directional interchange, colloquially known as a stack interchange, is a type of grade-separated junction between two controlled-access highways that allows for free-flowing movement to and from all directions of traffic. These interchanges e ...

on the southwest side of town complements the historic Casey Creek bridges, allowing much shorter travel times through the swamps to the east and south. In April 2007, Mount Vernon voters elected the first female mayor of the city, Mary Jane Chesley. She was sworn into office on May 7, 2007.

Geography

According to the 2010 census, Mount Vernon has a total area of , of which (or 99.38%) is land and (or 0.62%) is water. The community is about east of

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...

. Mt. Vernon is located on high ground between Casey Creek and the

, which join south of the town in what is now

Rend Lake Rend Lake is a long, wide reservoir located in Southern Illinois in Franklin and Jefferson Counties near the town of Benton. It contains 18,900 acres (76 km2) of water, stores of water, and supplies over 15 million gallons of water per ...

. In pre-settlement times the area around these waterways was a swamp, a heavily forested area that was waist-deep in water during much of the winter and during wet summers. Mt. Vernon was thus often surrounded by water and swamp on three sides. High ground was located to the north of Mt. Vernon. A ridge ran between the Big Muddy River and Casey Creek north toward what is now

. There are high places both west and east of Mt. Vernon from which one can see the town as a forested point of high ground jutting out into the bottoms. These high places are: from the west, near the Woodlawn interchange off Interstate 64 and from the east, on Old Fairfield Road near Summersville School, with the highest point located on Old Route 15 right before it merges with New Route 15, near Bluford.

Climate

Demographics

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...

of 2020, there were 14,600 people, and the 2015-2019 data estimated 6,495 households residing in the city. The 2010 population density was . There were 7,534 housing units. The racial makeup of the city was 80.6%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

, 14.7%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.3% Native American, 1%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 0.0%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe the original p ...

, and 2.6% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race were 2.4% of the population. There were 6,702 households, out of which 25.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 35% of all households were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...

living together, 16.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 43.6% were non-families. 37.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.23 and the average family size was 2.92. In the city the population was spread out, with 24.3% under the age of 18, 6.2% from 20 to 24, and 18% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38.3 years. Males represent 46.5% of the population, and 34% of the population was male and over 18. Women were 53.5% of the population, 41% of the population being female and over 18. The median income for a household in the city was $32,549, and the median income for a family was $36,660. Males had a median income of $28,324 versus $16,497 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the city was $21,283. About 19.9% of families and 23.7% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, including 35.4% of those under age 18 and 11.7% of that age 65 or over. 53.9% of households earn less than $35,000. Of the population over age 25, 72.7% have no college degree. 13.6% of those over 25 have no high school diploma nor equivalent. 7.6% of the population has a bachelor's degree or higher. According to the US Census, health care services and social services employ the second most people with 1,001 estimated jobs. Accommodation and food services (restaurants) are the highest employer with 1,146 estimated jobs.

Crime

Economy

Mount Vernon hosts a facility for

Continental Tire Continental AG, commonly known as Continental or colloquially as Conti, is a German multinational automotive parts manufacturing company specializing in tires, brake systems, interior electronics, automotive safety, powertrain and chassis compo ...

the Americas. It is also home to major distribution centers for NAPA,

National Railway Equipment National Railway Equipment Company is an American railroad equipment rebuilding, leasing, and manufacturing company, headquartered in Mt. Vernon, Illinois. NREC sells new and rebuilt locomotives to railroad companies worldwide, with an emphasis ...

(NREC), ALCO and IPT (subsidiaries of NREC), and

Walgreens Walgreen Company, d/b/a Walgreens, is an American company that operates the second-largest pharmacy store chain in the United States behind CVS Health. It specializes in filling prescriptions, health and wellness products, health information, an ...

along with many other smaller industries such as Vanex, Central Wholesale Liquors, IL-MO Welding supplies, Pepsi of Mid America, A.L. LEE Corporation, Goodman Air Conditioning, US Supply Co, Mine Supply Company, National Fabrication, IBT, Bearing Headquarters, Mt. Vernon Mold Works, Wiese Forklift Service Center, Black Forklift Service Center, Penske, Beelman Trucking, Clinton County Ready-Mix, Calison Wholesale Liquor, Praxair, Ultron Electronics,

FedEx Freight FedEx Corporation, formerly Federal Express Corporation and later FDX Corporation, is an American multinational conglomerate holding company focused on transportation, e-commerce and business services based in Memphis, Tennessee. The name "Fe ...

, UPS Freight, Springfield Electric, Mt. Vernon Electric, Jackson Marking Products, Bennett Metals, Sun Container, Three-States Supply Co, Phoenix Modular Elevator Company and Petter Trucking, which are located in or in close proximity to the city's three industrial parks. There is discussion of creating a fourth industrial park which is to be used for distribution centers in the area of the new interchange, this park would encompass and would be eligible for Tax Increment Financing and Enterprise Zone benefits. Development includes a Kohl's Department Store which opened early 2011 and Buffalo Wild Wings which opened December 19, 2010. Two new TIF ( Tax Increment Financing) districts have been created, one TIF is at Exit 95 and is a conservation/industrial use. Exit 94 is an Industrial Park Conservation TIF. Pepsi has built a new service and distribution center that was completed in March 2011, it is located off of the Davidson Avenue extension.

Top employers

According to Mount Vernon's 2021 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the city are:

Arts and culture

Mount Vernon is home to the Cedarhurst Center for the Arts, a 90-acre visual and performing arts institution. Cedarhurst celebrates the arts year-round with visual and performing arts programs for the public. The Cedarhurst Craft Fair is held yearly in early September on the grounds. In addition to its programs on property, the Mitchell Museum is located on the Cedarhurst grounds. The city is host to an event the first Saturday of each month from April through October called Market Days. This is an open-air market held near downtown and is similar to a craft fair or flea market. There is also the Jefferson County Historical Museum and Village located within incorporated Mount Vernon. The Museum and the Village reflect life in Jefferson County from the mid 19th century to more recent years. The C.E.Brehm Memorial Public Library, built in 1905, is a source of information to the community and is located downtown. Beatles guitarist George Harrison bought a guitar from Fenton's Music store in Mt. Vernon in 1963 while he was visiting his sister in nearby Benton, Illinois. The guitar sold at auction for $657,000 in 2014.

Parks and recreation

* Mount Vernon has multiple community parks with varying amenities. *

Wayne Fitzgerrell State Recreation Area The Wayne Fitzgerrell State Recreation Area is a 3,300-acre (13.4 km²) state park bordering Rend Lake near Benton, Illinois. The state park is managed by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources to concentrate on shoreline recreation, i ...

is located due south near Benton, Illinois.

has almost 19,000 acres of water area for recreation including boating, fishing, camping, and a resort.

Government

Local government

Jefferson County Courthouse in Mount Vernon

The city of Mount Vernon uses a Council-manager government with a mayor. The Mt. Vernon City Council meets regularly on the first and third Mondays each month. Meetings are moved to the following Tuesday if the first or third Monday falls on a holiday. The elective officers of the City of Mt. Vernon shall be a Mayor, four Councilmen, a City Clerk, and a City Treasurer. At the general election for City officers to be starting in January 1969 and every four years thereafter, there shall be elected a Mayor, City Clerk, City Treasurer, and two Councilmen. At the general election held in 1967 and every two years thereafter, two Councilmen shall be elected. The current mayor and council are: * Mayor – John Lewis * Council – Donte Moore, Joe Gliosci, Ray Botch, and Mike Young. _{Other Elected Officials} *Amanda K. Bean, Supervisor *J. Kenny Hayes, Highway Commissioner *Sheridan "Sherry" Meadows, Assesor *Cassandra McDermott, Clerk *Charlie Heck, Trustee *Terry Moore, Trustee *Leslie Sinks, Trustee *Nicholas Lemay, Trustee

Education

Mount Vernon City Schools operates elementary and middle schools. There are four education centers operated by school district 80 within the city: * Dr. Andy Hall Early Childhood Center (preschool) * Mount Vernon City Schools Primary Center (K-3) * J.L. Buford Intermediate Education Center (grades 4 and 5) * Zadok Casey Middle School (grades 6-8) Summersville Grade School of

Summersville School District 79 Summersville School District 79 or Summersville Grade School 79 (SGS) is a school district, consisting of a single K-8 school, in Mount Vernon, Illinois. In 2013 the district was one of several to receive grants from the 2013 School District Li ...

is a public grade school located on the east side of Mt. Vernon (grades K-8) Mount Vernon Township High School is the community high school.

Media

Newspapers

* ''Mt. Vernon Morning Sentinel'' - daily newspaper located within the city that covers local, countywide, and regional news. * '' Mt. Vernon Register-News'' - a newspaper that served Mount Vernon, and published its last edition on February 6, 2018; the following day, CNHI announced the closure of both the Register-News and the McLeansboro Times-Leader.

Radio

WMIX (AM) WMIX (940 AM, "News Talk 940") is an American radio station licensed to serve the community of Mount Vernon, Illinois. The station is owned by Withers Broadcasting and the WMIX broadcast license is held by Withers Broadcasting Company of Illinoi ...

is an AM frequency radio station operating at 940 kHz hosting a talk radio format. *

WMIX-FM WMIX-FM 94.1 FM broadcasting, FM is a radio station broadcasting a country music format. Licensed to Mount Vernon, Illinois, Mount Vernon, Illinois, the station serves the areas of Mount Vernon, Illinois, Mount Vernon, Illinois; Du Quoin, Illinois, ...

is an FM radio station with a country music format on 94.1 MHz. * WDML is an FM radio station with an adult rock & roll format on 106.9 MHz.

Television

WPXS WPXS (channel 13) is a religious television station licensed to Mount Vernon, Illinois, United States (a city within the Paducah, Kentucky–Cape Girardeau, Missouri–Harrisburg, Illinois television market), but primarily serving the St. Louis m ...

is a television station broadcasting north of Mount Vernon operating on digital channel 21 and virtual channel 13.

Infrastructure

Transportation

Roads and highways

* runs north and south and is local * runs east and west and is local * runs north and south and is local * runs east and west and is local * *

Airports

* The

Mount Vernon Airport Mount Vernon Outland Airport is a civil public use airport three miles (5 km) east of Mount Vernon, in Jefferson County, Illinois. It has no scheduled airline, but it was once served by Air Kentucky doing business as US Airways Express. F ...

has a 6,500-foot main runway, fixed-base operation, terminal building and storage hangars. Charter and private aviation services are provided, as well as refueling. The facility offers Shell 100 and Jet A fuels and pilot lounge with weight and exercise room, shower and snooze rooms, wireless internet in the airport terminal, complimentary refreshments, courtesy shuttle, as well as overnight hangar reservations. *

MidAmerica Airport MidAmerica St. Louis Airport is a public use airport next to Scott Air Force Base. It is 14 nautical miles (16 mi, 26 km) east of the central business district of Belleville and 18 nautical miles (21 mi, 33 ...

, a cargo airport approximately 45 miles from Mt. Vernon, located in Mascoutah, Illinois along Interstate 64.

Railroad service

* Evansville Western CSX * Norfolk Southern * Union Pacific * Burlington Northern Santa Fe

Motor freight

UPS Freight TForce Freight, a subsidiary of TFI International, is an American less than truckload (LTL) freight carrier based in Richmond, Virginia. The company was founded in 1935 as Overnite Transportation, the name it used until 2006 when it was rebrand ...

* Direct Motor Freight

Bus service

* Greyhound * South Central Mass Transit District

Notable people

Dwight Bernard Dwight Vern Bernard (born May 31, 1952) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher who is and currently a coach in the San Francisco Giants organization. Belmont University After attending Mt. Vernon Township High School (Illinois), Mount Vernon T ...

, pitcher for the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...

and

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

Ray Blades Francis Raymond Blades (August 6, 1896 – May 18, 1979) was an American left fielder, manager, coach and scout in Major League Baseball (MLB). Scouted on the sandlots by Rickey A native of McLeansboro, Illinois, Blades was first scouted as a bas ...

, left fielder for the St. Louis Cardinals; manager for the Cardinals and

Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1884 as a member of the American Association (19th century), American Association before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brooklyn until 1957, after which the ...

* Paul W. Broyles, businessman and Illinois state legislator *

Louis Emmerson Louis Lincoln Emmerson (December 27, 1863 – February 4, 1941) was an American Republican politician and the twenty-seventh governor of Illinois. Family Louis was born on December 27, 1863, in Albion, Illinois, and is the son of Jesse and ...

, 29th Governor of Illinois from 1929–1933 *

Randy Fenoli Randy Fenoli is an American television presenter and fashion designer who is mainly known for his work on wedding dresses and his own TV show ''Randy to the Rescue'' and ''Say Yes to the Dress''. He was the fashion director for the wedding dress ...

, television presenter and fashion designer *

Crista Flanagan Crista Flanagan (born February 24, 1976) is an American actress and comedian, best known for her work as a cast member on the Fox sketch comedy series ''MADtv'' from 2005 to 2009, various roles in films made by Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer, ...

, comedic actress, roles including MADtv and Mad Men *

Reed Green Bernard Reed Green (December 12, 1911 – February 1, 2002) was an American football, basketball, and baseball player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at the University of Southern Mississippi from ...

, Illinois lawyer and politician * Michael Hicks, independent game designer and musician *

Walt Kirk Walton Kirk Jr. (September 3, 1924 – December 12, 2012) was an American professional basketball player. Walton Kirk Jr, the son of Walton Sr. and Gertrude Kirk, grew up in Mount Vernon, Illinois and graduated from Mt. Vernon Township High Sc ...

, University of Illinois and pro basketball player * Jeane Kirkpatrick, first woman to serve as

United States Ambassador to the United Nations The United States ambassador to the United Nations is the leader of the U.S. delegation, the U.S. Mission to the United Nations. The position is formally known as the permanent representative of the United States of America to the United Nations ...

; graduated from Mt. Vernon Township High School. *

Clyde Lee Clyde Wayne Lee (born March 14, 1944) is an American former professional basketball player who had his most success as an All-American center at Vanderbilt University, where the two-time Southeastern Conference Player of the Year was among the mo ...

, Illinois state legislator and businessman *

Ben Moses Ben Moses (born 1948) is an American documentarian, television producer, director, writer, and filmmaker best known for ''Good Morning, Vietnam'' and the documentary ''A Whisper to a Roar''. Moses has been the executive in charge of television ...

, TV producer, writer, director, filmmaker * William L. O'Daniel, Illinois state legislator and farmer *

David Overstreet David Arthur Overstreet (September 20, 1958 – June 24, 1984) was a running back in the Canadian Football League (CFL) and National Football League (NFL). He played for coach Barry Switzer and the Oklahoma Sooners as a halfback out of the wishb ...

, Illinois Supreme Court justice.

David K. Overstreet David K. Overstreet (born January 14, 1966) is a justice of the Illinois Supreme Court. Education Overstreet received his Bachelor of Science from Lipscomb University and his Juris Doctor from the University of Tennessee College of Law. Le ...

Charles W. Pavey Charles W. Pavey (November 14, 1835 – May 12, 1910) was an American businessman and politician. Born in Highland County, Ohio, Pavey moved to Mount Vernon, Illinois and was a merchant. During the American Civil War, Pavey served in the 80th I ...

, Illinois businessman and politician *

Tazewell B. Tanner Tazewell or Tazwell B. Tanner (November 6, 1821 – March 21, 1881) was an American lawyer, judge, politician, and newspaper editor. Tanner was born in Danville, Virginia. He went to McKendree College and was a schoolteacher. In 1846, he move ...

, Illinois state representative, judge, and newspaper editor *

Kenny Troutt Kenny A. Troutt (born 1948) is an American business man. He founded Excel Communications, a Texas-based telecommunications company that offered long distance phone service. Troutt became a billionaire in 1998 when Excel was sold to Teleglobe for ...

, Founder and CEO, Excel Communications * Albert Watson, Illinois Supreme Court justice *

Albert Watson, II Albert Watson II (January 5, 1909 – March 14, 1993) was a United States Army lieutenant general. He participated in World War II and fought in a number of significant battles in the Pacific Theater, including the Battle of Okinawa. From May ...

, US Army lieutenant general during World War II *

Jane Willis Jane Willis, a partner at Ropes & Gray, served as co-head of the Litigation and Enforcement practice, and then became a member of the firm's Policy Committee in 2019. She is a graduate of Phillips Exeter Academy. She received her undergraduate degr ...

, attorney, member of

blackjack Blackjack (formerly Black Jack and Vingt-Un) is a casino banking game. The most widely played casino banking game in the world, it uses decks of 52 cards and descends from a global family of casino banking games known as Twenty-One. This fami ...

team featured in ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' best-selling book '' Bringing Down the House'' and the film

21 (2008 film) ''21'' is a 2008 American heist drama film directed by Robert Luketic and distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing. The film is inspired by the story of the MIT Blackjack Team as told in '' Bringing Down the House'', the best-selling 2003 book by B ...

Mary Beth Zimmerman Mary Beth Zimmerman (born December 11, 1960) is an American professional golfer who played on the LPGA Tour The Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) is an American organization for female golfers. The organization is headquartered at t ...

, golfer

References

* History of Jefferson County, Illinois, William Henry Perrin, 1883 * Mt. Vernon Illinois A Pictorial History, Thomas A. Puckett, 1991, Bradley Publishing company

External links

* {{Authority control Cities in Jefferson County, Illinois County seats in Illinois Populated places established in 1817 1817 establishments in Illinois Territory Cities in Illinois