Mount Vernon
Mount Vernon, Washington County, Texas
Marker Inscription
The rural settlement of Mount Vernon, named for the Virginia home of President George Washington, served as county seat of Washington County from 1841 to 1844. John Stamps (1798-1867), an early area settler, is credited with founding and naming the Mount Vernon community. Stamps, who owned vast acreage in this vicinity, represented Washington County in the Eighth Congress of the Republic of Texas in 1843-44. At its height, Mount Vernon included a log courthouse and jail, homes, businesses, churches, and a school. An estimated twenty families lived in the community. An election held in 1844 resulted in the relocation of the county seat to Brenham. The loss of county seat status, coupled with the improvement of transportation as new roads were built enabling easy travel to Brenham, resulted in the demise of the Mount Vernon township by the 1880s. Families gradually moved away, and by 1900 all that remained of the community were a few building foundations. Eventually, the town site reverted to farmland. Although no physical remnants of Mount Vernon exist, it remains a significant part of Washington County history.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Named for George Washington's Virginia estate, this rural settlement served as the seat of Washington County from 1841 to 1844 during the days of the Republic of Texas. Its founder, John Stamps, was a large landowner who represented the county in the Republic's Eighth Congress, and at its height the town held a log courthouse and jail, homes, churches, and a school for some twenty families. An 1844 election moved the county seat to Brenham, and as new roads eased travel there, Mount Vernon dwindled—by 1900 only a few foundations remained, and the site returned to farmland.
Why it matters
Its brief life and quiet disappearance illustrate how the contest for county-seat status and the pull of better roads decided which Republic-of-Texas towns survived and which became ghost towns.
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Related people
- · John Stamps
Themes & tags
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