Mount Vernon, Indiana

Mount Vernon is a city in southern Indiana along the Ohio River and the county seat of Posey County. It is located in Black Township. As of the 2010 census, the city's population was 6,687. It is part of the Evansville, Indiana metropolitan area, which had a 2000 population of 342,815.

Geography
Mount Vernon is located at °N, °W (37.936766, -87.898780).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 2.5 square miles (6.6 km²), of which, 2.5 square miles (6.4 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.2 km²) of it (2.77%) is water.

History
Mt. Vernon was named for George Washington's plantation at Mt. Vernon. That name derives from Edward Vernon, a British naval hero, under whom Washington's half-brother served, and in whose honor Rule Britannia was written.

Mt. Vernon is the seat of Posey County, named for Gen. Thomas Posey, Governor of the Indiana Territory, who had the distinction of growing up next door to George Washington at the original Mt. Vernon, and who was widely rumoured to be Washington's illegitimate son. The rumors were dismissed by Posey's biographer, John Thornton Posey.

From around 1805 to 1816, Mount Vernon was known as McFadden's Bluff named for one of the first settlers to the area. There are a number of historic sites in Mount Vernon including The Posey County Courthouse Square, Downtown Historic District, Welborn Historic District and the William Gonnermann House all of which have been placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The town has become a big center for plastics, with the manufacture of Lexan taking place just south of town at the SABIC plant; in addition, Port of Indiana-Mount Vernon, is an important part of the city's industry.

Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 7,478 people, 3,027 households, and 2,058 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,036.0 people per square mile (1,173.7/km²). There were 3,312 housing units at an average density of 1,344.7 per square mile (519.8/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 95.85% White, 2.65% African American, 0.16% Native American, 0.23% Asian, 0.25% from other races, and 0.86% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.56% of the population.

There were 3,027 households out of which 33.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.4% were married couples living together, 12.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.0% were non-families. 28.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 2.97.

In the city the population was spread out with 26.1% under the age of 18, 8.0% from 18 to 24, 27.9% from 25 to 44, 23.1% from 45 to 64, and 14.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 91.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.0 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $36,543, and the median income for a family was $49,432. Males had a median income of $40,045 versus $22,790 for females. The per capita income for the city was $19,264. About 10.5% of families and 12.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.6% of those under age 18 and 13.0% of those age 65 or over.

Government
The city has a mayor and city council form of government. The mayor is elected in citywide vote. The city council consists of five members: four are elected from individual districts and one is elected at-large.

Industry
The popular BMX Company Dan's Competition is located in Mount Vernon. Dan's Comp sells many bikes and other products each year and is very successful. Mt. Vernon is also home to a number of refineries and also a former GE Plastics Plant, now owned by Saudi Arabia Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC). Vectren Energy's A.B. Brown Generating Station is also addressed to Mt. Vernon. The Ports of Indiana are negotiating with a second biofuels company to develop a plant at the Port of Indiana-Mount Vernon. The new facility, along with the Aventine Renewable Energy ethanol plant announced late last year, will make Mount Vernon an important energy port. The Aventine plant, which is being developed by a partnership with Consolidated Grain and Barge, another company at the port, will be the largest ethanol plant east of the Mississippi River. It is expected to produce 110 million gallons of ethanol a year once completed. The Mount Vernon port is also the largest port for coal shipments in the U.S. The John T. Myers Locks and Dam located 13 miles SE of Mount Vernon plays important shipping role for the area's river based industries.

Local media
Mount Vernon is served by a weekly newspaper The Mount Vernon Democrat and radio stations WRCY-AM 1590 and WYFX-FM 106.7.

Schools
The city and southern half of Posey County are served by the M.S.D. of Mount Vernon which currently operates 5 schools:


 * Mount Vernon Senior High School (9-12)
 * Mount Vernon Junior High (6-8)
 * Farmersville Elementary School (K-5)
 * Marrs Elementary School (K-5)
 * West Elementart School (K-5)


 * St Matthew's School (K-5) is operated under the auspices of the Diocese of Evansville

Public Library
The Alexandrian Public Library serves the residents of Mount Vernon, Indiana as well as Black, Lynn, Marrs, Point and Robinson townships (approximately 21,000 residents).

The Main Library, built in 1986, is located at 115 West Fifth Street, and boasts over 100,000 items, a dozen public computers, as well as free Wi-Fi. In addition, a Bookmobile operates to serve the area schools and outlying areas of the county.

A monthly book discussion group for adults, numerous storytimes, a Summer Reading Program, targeted programming for youth, young adult and adults is offered free of charge to the public on a regular basis.

The Alexandrian Public Library also has a varied and popular collection of local history resources and family history files in the "Indiana Room" of the Main Library. Microfilmed newspapers, contributed family documents, resources from the Posey County Historical Society and more are available for genealogists and researchers.

Meeting rooms are also available for use by the public at the library. Non-profit groups may use the rooms free of charge, and for-profit groups are charged $5/hour.

The Alexandrian Public Library is open 9am-8pm Monday through Thursday, 9am-5pm on Friday and Saturday, and 1pm-5pm on Sunday.

Highways

 * [[Image:indiana 62.svg|30px]] Indiana State Road 62
 * [[Image:indiana 69.svg|30px]] Indiana State Road 69

Rail Service

 * Evansville Western Railway, a short line railroad serving area industries both in Indiana and Illinois is headquartered in Mt Vernon.

River Port

 * Port of Indiana-Mount Vernon, a major publicly-funded riverport, is located just east of Mt. Vernon. It began operation in 1976 as Southwind Maritime Center and is one of three public ports operated by the state of Indiana.

Notable natives

 * H. Joel Deckard, (1942-), Born in Vandalia, Illinois, Deckard attended public schools in Mount Vernon, Indiana. He served as member of Indiana House of Representatives from 1966 to 1974 and was later elected to the US House of Representatives serving from 1979 to 1983.  He was unsuccessful in his reelection bid in 1982 losing to Frank McCloskey.


 * William Harrow, (1822–1871), Union general in the Civil War. Born in Winchester, Kentucky, lived in Mount Vernon and is buried in Bellefontaine Cemetery just north of town.


 * Alvin P. Hovey, (1821–1891), Union general in the Civil War and Governor of Indiana 1889-1891. Played major role in Battle of Champion Hill during the Siege of Vicksburg.  Born in Mount Vernon and is buried in Bellefontaine Cemetery.


 * Thomas Gamble Pitcher, (1824–1895), Union general in the Civil War and was 1845 graduate of the United States Military Academy later serving as Superintendent from 1866-1871. Born in Rockport, Indiana, lived in Mount Vernon and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.