Mount Vernon

Mount Vernon, among the earliest settlements in what is now Lamar County and for a short time its county seat, was five miles south of Paris and just west of combined State highways 19 and 24. The community was first settled in the late 1830s or early 1840s, and in June 1843 the county seat was moved there from Lafayette and a log courthouse was constructed. The next year the county seat was transferred to Paris. A small settlement remained at the site for many years; as late as the 1920s the area had a school and several houses. By the 1930s, however, Mount Vernon was no longer shown on maps. In the 1990s no trace of the community remained. A state historical marker was placed at the site in 1936.