There were many settlements around Mount Vernon. The first early settlers came down from Batesville or across the eastern hills from Searcy and the White River with its steamboat transportation.

About 1851 the family of Anderson Atkinson erected on Cadron Creek, in Mountain Township, just above Mount Vernon and near Beckett Mountain, a grist mill. Along Mortar Creek settled the Plant, Martin and Hamilton families during the 1850 decade. No settlements of any note rose in these later two areas.

Brehon Hawkins settled one mile north of Mount Vernon in the latter part of the 1850s. This rolling land was well timbered with stately oaks and hickories.

Dick Fears, a man of some means, settled here. Fears hired day labor to erect a two-room hewn log house with two glass windows in each room. The outside was then covered with three-foot boards. He began to clear 20 acres for farm use. He also erected an 18x20 foot log store building and put in a good stock of goods. He sold only for cast. The Fears store building was located about where the Mount Vernon school system is now.

Fears joined the Confederate Army and returned to his home in 1865. He was helping build an old-time cotton press and lost his life when the press collapsed and fell on him. Jack Crow took over his homestead.

Tom House, a bachelor, also returned from the war in 1865, and in time to put a cotton crop that year that ginned out six bales. Cotton brought a good price that year but we do not have the exact price per pound. Tom House rented the old Fears store building from Crow and put in a stock of goods. He freighted his goods with an ox wagon. Three yokes of oxen could carry six bales of cotton to Judsonia and bring back 2,500-3,000 pounds of goods. The round trip from Mount Vernon to Judsonia required four days.

The Baptist church stood a mile south of here at Cedar Grove. In August, 1865, the congregation built a brush arbor near the store. The people, in a protracted revival meeting, agreed to build a plank church house. Zack Reece and C.C. Plice did the work on this two-story construction with fitting the upper floor out for the local Masons. This church was erected in Section Twenty-four, T 7 N, R 11 W. This was the first building in what is now Mount Vernon.

Young House then erected a business building here close to the new church and Masonic hall. Art Matthew put in a blacksmith shop a little to the south of the church. The idea of a town pleased several other citizens and they made plans to occupy the area.

Madison Coleman Hawkins was born two miles north on April 3, 1868, a son of Brehon and Lottie Gray Hawkins. This family had come to the area from Tennessee about 1840. In his later years, Madison Hawkins related the times when great flocks of carrier pigeons obscured the skies and darkened the earth as they flew over in a migration seeking food and water.

Mrs. Josie E. Jobe Brown was born Feb. 19, 1867, near Mount Vernon, a daughter of James and Milly Jobe. The Jobe family had also moved to this area from Tennessee.

Mrs. Sarah M. Brown was born four miles north of Mount Vernon on Dec. 8, 1861, on a farm near the Highway 36 bridge over Cadron Creek. Joshua J. Henry was born Sept. 28, 1866, at Mount Vernon, a son of Francis Edward and Sarah Ann Cosey Henry.

Dan Hendrickson and Tom Ussery erected houses and stores and became merchants. Wade Ussery was a pioneer who settled here, in 1867, and put in a small steam mill and cotton gin. He could produce two or three bales of cotton a day. He also ground corn and wheat. This wheat flour was a little dark but made very fine bread.

Dr. Robert T. Harrison practiced medicine and operated a drug store here, until 1869, when he moved to the new Conway Station on the railroad. Green B. Evans also had a store at Mount Vernon. Evans had come to this area shortly after the Civil War in 1865. He had an active part in the development of the new town and tried several business ventures here. He rented land, farmed a little and then tried horse-trading before moving in 1866 to Johnson County. Evans then went to the Indian Territory, where he remained until 1870, when he settled by the railroad, then building, near Cadron Gap.

This new settlement was at first called Stonewall Jackson, but this name lasted for only a few weeks as it was thought too long. The post office was established Feb 7., 1877, under the name of Houseville. James Sanders was named postmaster.

In a town council meeting it was decided to name the town Mount Vernon. Nov. 6, 1877, the post office of Mount Vernon became official. The mail came in from Cane Creek in a pillow case, carried by a pony, twice a week. It was handed out at the House store.

Greer and Bacuum set up their mercantile house and had enough business to employ clerks. The store was later purchased by John and Buck Crite. In 1886, John Jones purchased this firm. He took in his brother, E.E. Jones, as a partner who later assumed full ownership.

Other merchants in the early 1870s were the Johnson brothers from Shiloh, who erected a stone building. They also had a saloon. A temperance league was formed at Mount Vernon and in a 12-month period, 263 persons in this area signed a pledge of nonindulgence. There is no record of the backsliders, if any.

The town had only one blacksmith but it had a succession of owners. It was formed by Arkansas Matthews, who sold to Elliott, and from him to Vickery and then to Holt.

Dr. George S. Brown came to Mount Vernon in 1872 after his graduation from Dartmouth College. He moved to Conway in 1875, practicing medicine until his death in 1928 at the age of 80. Dr. Powers migrated from Missouri during this 1870 decade and located at Mount Vernon. He taught several young men the art of healing. They were Sam Roberts, Joe Price, Jeff Daniels and his son, Tavener Powers.

Sometime in the 1870s a Rev. Newell, a Baptist minister, moved here and opened a saddler's shop. At the same time, Showmaker Jones opened a cobbler's shop.

In Dec., 1873, there arose a great interest in the Grange movement at Mount Vernon and 25 of its citizens made up a petition for a charter: "Patrons of husbandry. To all good patrons everywhere. Be it known that application is hereby made by J.D. Sublett, A.F. Livingston, D.W. Hendrickson, W.T. Massey, H.G. Holt, W.H. Woods, J.J. Corn, E. Harper, Frank Pruett, W.M. Morris, T.M. Vickery, A.R. Jackson, B.F. Riggins, W, S, Belew, W.R. Price, G.C. Reece, Josiah Simpson, Mrs. S.J. Hendrickson, T.D. McGlone, S.E. Holt, M.C. Woods, W.T., Moseley, W.F. Moseley, M.A. Vickery and M.A. Jackson for a dispensation from the National Grange to organize a subordinate Grange in Mount Vernon, Arkansas and to be known as Enola Grange No. 142."

This petition was granted Feb. 20, 1874, and the unit was organized. Along in 1879-1880 it was moved to near Siloam and carried its name to the beginning of a new town to the west of Siloam which became Enola.

The population of 1880 Mount Vernon was 160. There were two stores, a school and a cotton gin. The first school was held in the Baptist church under a man named Moseley. Later a small one-room school building was erected in the southwestern part of town.

There is an undated newspaper clipping concerning a school at Mount Vernon. "Professor S.G. Maddox closed a Mount Vernon school on June 21. That day was spent in examining the classes in their different studies. The afternoon exercises then closed by short but appropriate and encouraging talks by Rev. T.A. Graham, Rev. W.R. Davis, Rev. J.M. Lively and W.B. Massey.

The crowd then adjourned to reassembly at an early hour for the concert exercises which consisted of declamations, recitations and dialogues. The house was crowded and all were well pleased. Students attended Woodruff County, Rosebud, Springfield, Romance and Mount Vernon.

The next term would begin in July. The school building is to be enlarged as soon as lumber can be hauled and put up. Boarding students live with local families at reasonable rates."

Oct 31, 1881, the saloons at Mount Vernon were closed under the three-mile law from a radius beginning at the Baptist church. July 7, 1879, residents of Muddy Bayou (Mount Vernon was in that township in that period) offered a petition in county court to change the voting precinct from Mount Vernon to Garland Springs.

S.E. Lamar and 175 others made this petition, saying "that Garland Springs is nearer the center of said township. (2) abundance of good water convenient to house, (3) a large convenient building." The petition for removal was granted.

What political jealousies brought about this is not known. A study of the Garland Springs area is possible. G.W. Dalton said in 1930 that the "land around Garland Springs, in 1851, at its center ridge was broken with ridges, hills and small mountains. The valleys were filled with creeks and forests of white oak, gum, hickory and black walnut. Some of the white oak are four feet in diameter and 35 feet to the first limb."

Winter grapes were fondly gathered by the settlers and grew into the tree tops. These grapes produced an enormous quantity of food for the wild fowl and small game.

The underbrush here is of hazel brush, three to five feet high. It furnished many nuts to the turkeys, bears, hogs and squirrels who were fond of hazel nuts. The people also gathered them.

The uplands had post oak, red oak, black jack, black hickory or persimmon trees. The post oaks were 20 feet to their first limbs and were used for the houses of logs which were erected here.

The turf here was of barn grass which was often so thick that it required a good team to dig it up. It served, however, as a good winter foodstuff for all the farmer's hooved animals. By the fall it had grown knee-high or better.

G.W. Tobe Adkisson did a fine mercantile business for many years before selling out to Bernard Traylor, who in 1932, had the only brick house in Mount Vernon in that era.

Dec. 8, 1904, a feud between two families broke out at Mount Vernon. The Harris and White families began this feud when Dave Harris was killed in early October. The Whites were brought to court, but there was insufficient evidence to hold them for the charge of murder.

Later, Dec 8, R.E. White was killed as he walked behind a wagon being driven by his son, Bay White, who was wounded when both were fired upon from ambush. This occurrence happened a quarter mile from their home.

About 1903 a larger school building was erected in the east part of Mount Vernon. In 1918, however, it was moved out west, where it remains. Sept. 12, 1940 after two disastrous fires in 14 months, the Mount Vernon school district erected a new concrete school building. There would be no wood in this new edifice. Steel doors and windows were a feature of the new 12-room building. The National Youth Administration was furnishing labor through the employment of 75 men and boys on this rebuilding project."