A Tour of Mount Vernon

The following guide could provide a sight-seer with an entertaining and educational day in our town.  If you are interested in the tour, use the contact information to locate a map of the town and any other help required; then pick up your camera and join us for a day in Mount Vernon.

Otherwise, again with a map of the town in hand, a member of our own younger generation wanting to learn about his or her roots could put this guide to good use.  Perhaps you have just heard some the names below and never put them together with places and historical events.  This would be a good time to do so.  Below the tour guide you will find an extensive list of historic homes and buildings in and around Mt. Vernon.

1. Start at Kneiff-Smith House on the west side of South Holbrook Street. This small house is on the Mt. Vernon to Pittsburg Road. The Holbrook Homestead stood across the street and the street today is named after that prominent early family. The Holbrooks and Rutherfords intermarried and were related before immigrating to Mt. Vernon in the 1840's from Tennessee.

This house is one of three which belonged to the Hughes family in the 1920's. Virgil and Agnes Hughes (daughter Virgie Beth) lived in the Kneiff-Smith House. The Bernie Bolin home on Tolbert Street, just around the corner from the Knife-Smith House belonged to Ira and Mae Hughes Masters - he was superintendent of Mt. Vernon Schools in the 1920's. The third Hughes child - Harmon Hughes - lived in the Brakebill House - about 4 houses north of the Kneiff-Smith House. The Kneiff-Smith house has passed through many owners; ultimately Robert and Linda Smith gave the house for our headquarters in 1991, where it remained until our move to the Parchman House in 1996.

2. Across the street from the Kneiff-Smith House is the Stringer House. This house was built in 1884 by W.C. Holbrook. It was originally a gingerbread Victorian cottage; it was remodeled about 1905; and again in the 1950's. The house has been home to 4 generations of the Stringer family in Mt. Vernon and now belongs to Inona Stringer of Mason, Texas.

Immediately south of the Stringer House is Fanning Springs. These springs are written up as being a major stopping point for travelers as early as 1840. The original town of Mt. Vernon grew up around this spring; hidden under the weeds is a native iron ore rock lining put in in the 1920's. In 1848 Stephen and Rebecca Keith gave the 24 acres where the present townsite is now situated. Slowly the churches and schools moved up to the new townsite. The spring flows into what is now known as "Town Branch". The original New Liberty Baptist Church (predecessor to First Baptist of Mt. Vernon) was built across the branch; the original families lived along this flowing creek; and the first school - The Mt. Vernon Male and Female Academies - was built on the creek.

Just south of Fanning Springs is the old Mt. Vernon Waterworks Plant. The first facility was built in 1911. Dr. Will Godwin, entomologist with Stephen F. Austin State University, and Steve Moore, current Michener Fellow with the University of Texas, are restoring the facility.

3. Turn right onto Rutherford Street. The original Rutherford Farm and large home was just south of this street near the intersection with Kaufman Street. The street name probably derives from the original ownership of this family's farm; you would travel along "Rutherford's Lane" and this became Rutherford Street.

4. Turn north on Kaufman Street. On the right is the L.D. Lowry "pink house" - a two story brick. And just past the former Lowry Home is the Majors-Parchman House, historical association headquarters since the fall of 1996.

This house is unique in Mt. Vernon in that it is an 1883 Queen Anne Victoria farmhouse in the middle of the town - which grew up around the farmhouse. Restoration of the house and remaining outbuildings was completed in the summer of 1996 by B.F. Hicks.

The house was the farmhouse for the Majors farm which was bounded on the east by the Holbrook Farm (now Holbrook St.); on the south by the Rutherford farm; on the north by the Methodist Church property; and on the east by the Mt. Vernon and Winnsboro Road (now Kaufman Street).

The Selvidge family built the house in 1883. The house was subsequently sold to the Majors family and later to the Parchman family. Mr. Joe Parchman and his wife, Letitia, held this property from 1905 until 1960. Lots were sold off allowing subsequent development up and down Holbrook and Kaufman Streets but they retained 3/4ths of an acre with the original farm outbuildings. Still standing is the original barn (with a stall for a milk cow to provide fresh milk in a day before refrigeration and a horse stall to allow travel; the smoke house - essential for preserving meats; and the chicken house.

5. Continue north on Kaufman and pass the Joyce House - across from the Majors - Parchman House; another "city house" but situated so that the owners could maintain a milk cow and horse in a day before modern conveniences allowed town life as we now know it. The home took in about l5 acres but road frontage was sold off along Kaufman Street; the original barn stands behind the house and the property still includes about 5 acres in pasture behind the houses along Kaufman Street.

A part of the barn was originally used as a jail for Franklin County before the present jail was built; inspection reveals unusual construction of heavy boards nailed two and three deep to hold criminals. When the present jail was built; the old wooden jail was moved to this property and incorporated into the barn.

6. You pass the home of Jeff and Hazel Meredith, Don Meredith's childhood home, on the left, just past the Joyce House. And then the Goswick-Long-Majors Home, built in 1911.

7. Continuing north on Kaufman you come to the old Methodist Church building now occupied as a home by B.F. Hicks. The church is the third Methodist church on the site. The original building faced north-south and was built in 1875; it was a large frame building and men and women set on opposite sides of the sanctuary. The second building with an elaborate bell tower was built in 1896 - aligned east-west; and the present building was erected in 1930. This building has the original pews from the 1896 building. In 1985 Mt. Vernon Methodists moved to their present structure on Highway 37 south near the interstate and sold this building to Hicks.

The grounds behind the Methodist building were fenced a century and a half ago also; after the Civil War, starting in 1868, this area was used for the county fairgrounds with a race track; firearms had to be checked at the entry. The Methodist purchase of the property in 1875, apparently put an end to the earlier use.

8. As you continue north you pass a vacant lot (now parking lot for the First Baptist Church. This was the site of the Franklin Institute; a two story frame building which was the second public school erected in Mt. Vernon; it stood until about 1915.

Behind the lot, facing Holbrook Street, is the old Mt. Vernon High School, built in 1941, vacated in 1967, and now used as a warehouse.

Across from the Franklin Institute Lot - now occupied by brick homes - was the site of the High School, built in 1928 (later used as a grade school), and also vacated when the schools moved to the new location on Highway 37 in 1967. The building burned shortly after it was vacated.

9. Continuing north is the 1895 Petty-Solomon Victorian Home restored by Don and Fran Yates, now known as the Seven Gables Bed & Breakfast Inn. Donnie and Deborah Thomas are the innkeepers. The house was built in 1895 by A.J. Petty, Sr. The property was sold by Petty to H.G. Haynes, who sold it to S.A. Petty in 1918. H.E. Solomon purchased the house in 1927. Mr. and Mrs. Yates purchased the property from the Solomon heirs in 1980 and sold it to the Thomas family in 1998.

10. As you near the Railroad Tracks, turn left. Railroad right-of-way was purchased in 1881 and lines were laid and service began in 1887. The present depot was built in 1894.

Until only 30 years ago, facing north toward the tracks and town, you would have seen a very different site with a complete block of brick buildings taking in a city block where the bank parking lot and fountain now is.

Commercial Buildings occupied the area where the Post Office now stands and the public wagon yard occupied the area where the water tower now stands. The depot stood on the west side of Kaufman Street facing the railroad tracks. After passenger and freight service was discontinued, the 1894 depot was given to the Historical Association with the requirement that it be moved off railroad right-of-way and the restored facility now faces Kaufman, about 150 feet north of the tracks.

11. As you turn back south on Leftwich Street, you pass the Gill Home - now owned by Ron and Libby Milton and beautifully restored; probably the only house in town with the original well and well house still operating and connected to the main house. Then pass the Clinton Hotel on the right. This is called a hotel, but it was more of a "boarding house" arrangement for the railroad conductors and officials. The house was built about 1880 and was used as a hotel through the 1920's.

12. At the corner of the Haynes Rodkey House, turn right, and continue west past the Davidson-Stringer Home. Lloyd Whitten Davidson was the son of Beulah Parchman Davidson of Mt. Vernon; he married Frances Crutcher, daughter of Mt. Vernon doctor, W.C. Crutcher, in 1911, and built the house soon thereafter. The Davidsons moved to Sulphur Springs about 1915. Sam Henderson, station agent for the Cotton Belt Railway, married Lucy Lee Crutcher - sister to Frances - in 1917. Lloyd Davidson was elected to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals in 1950 and served on that court for 30 years; he and his wife are buried in the State Cemetery in Austin. The Davidsons sold the house to Pleas Stringer and members of that family still own the home.

13. Where the geodesic home now stands was the site of the 2nd Baptist church building; it was a large ornate Victorian structure with a bell tower.

14. Back to the south you see the Fleming Home; built in 1903 by prominent physician Dr. James Fleming. Dr. Fleming lived to the age of 99. He was a world traveler; and a very noted and respected physician.

In terms of noteworthy citizens: we should note at this point that a Rutherford (Mt. Vernon native) was a member of the team of physicians who discovered sonar; Jack Dodson of Franklin County went on to become president of Columbia University; and Dr. Byron Bennett of Mt. Vernon was Dr. Jonas Salk's assistant in the discovery of the polio vaccine.

15. As you turn right (north) onto Miller, you are at the 1893 home of Romulus Talbott. Talbott built his first home in 1883; when his family grew larger, the home was rolled on logs a few feet north, and this more imposing structure was built. Talbott is one of several Talbott brothers who come here before the Civil War. He died about 1923; descendants still live in this county.

16. Talbott sold off a tiny lot with the 1883 house; now owned by Cherry Leslie Onley; and retained 5 acres so he could keep the necessary horse and cow required for life in a town at the turn of the century.

17. Just down the street is the McDonough Sears Roebuck mail order home; shipped by rail in a "do it yourself kit"; this home was occupied by Mr. and Mrs. Tom McDonough for almost 75 years of their married lives; they both lived into their 90's and the home is now being restored by Mr. and Mrs. Sam Valenti.

18. Turn left along the railroad and cross the tracks;

19. Turn up Oak Street; at the corner of Oak and Bolin is one of numerous Tittle Houses. The Dutton-Teague House belonged to Mr. Charles Tittle at one point; Oak Street was a private lane lined with large oaks which served as entry to this large home. Mr. Tittle sold off or gave lots to his many children; the small home at the corner of Bolin Street was built by his daughter, Unita Tittle Banks.

20. The Dutton-Teague House is built in 1882 and was a true Victorian with a third floor widow's walk; but in 1920, the house was thoroughly modernized - so today you see the classic 1920 home but the interior details are very Victorian. As with most other older homes in the town, lots were sold off the original property along Main Street and the side streets but the house retains a large acreage in the center of the block.

There are great ghost stories (at least two different ghosts - Maurice Wilkinson - Boy Mayor of the town - was stricken with pneumonia in 1927 when he lived in the house with his bride of six months, Eula Bryson Carter, and died shortly thereafter; Sheriff Dutton's daughter died in the front parlor from the colic while being rocked by her grandmother; and then the grandmother died - about 1890 - found the next morning; they were seen rocking through the 1930's.

21. A huge Classic Revival home stood in the middle of the horse pasture at the western end of Oak Street; the Charles Dupree home was demolished to make way for the football field about 1920; today a vacant lot.

22. As you turn back toward Main Street, you come between two homes which are almost sister houses; built by best friends in 1903. West Main Street was Mt. Vernon's Silk Stocking row from about 1900 until 1930 and most of the fine homes remain. Many homes are marked. The Tittle-Wilkinson house on the corner of Oak and West Main was for many years the home of one of the town's most prominent lawyers, Judge R.T. Wilkinson and his wife, Lela Nelson, and later his daughter, Mrs. Agens Burns, who taught piano in Mt. Vernon for over 75 years. The other twin was restored by Greg and Stephanie Carr; it belonged for may years to the J.B. Heywood Family; Mr. Heywood was station agent at the depot. The house later belonged to the Hague family.

The Rutherford house on West Main is the first brick house built in Mt. Vernon - 1920. The Hughes house on East Main is the second brick house built in the town - 1927.

23. Look back west along Main Street; the original route of the highway does not turn but is the black top road which is the original Indian road, and later Highway No. l - going west from Mt. Vernon to Dallas. The Thruston House is at the bottom of the hill. At the top of the hill stood Shadyside - Antebellum home of Confederate Captain, John Payne Hill - a Virginia lawyer and early immigrant to Franklin County.

24. At the corner of English Street, you have another street named for a prominent pre-Civil War Settler. The Jabez Galt pecan orchard at the end of English Street is a property occupied by a descendent of Campbell English (Dr. Galt's ancestor) l50 years after the farm was first purchased by English.

25. On the west side of the intersection if the Wilbur Jabez Galt home; and on the east side of the intersection is the site of the J.N. Teague home which burned in December 1998. Dr. Teague doctored his own daughter; she died; he never practiced medicine again. Dr. Teague was the owner of the Dutton-Teague house; he sold it in 1907 and moved to the Victorian on Main Street which we lost in 1998.

26. Where the Shur Quick now stands is the site of the 1895 Church of Christ. It was torn down about 1948 and the present building built further out on West Main.

27. Both sides of Main Street were lined with gasoline stations and car dealers. The abandoned service station just west of the First National Bank parking lot was actually a livery stable - the Ed Galt Livery Stable - from about 1890 until the 1920's.

28. Drive east through town and past the town square, site of the courthouse which stood in the center of town from 1878 through 1912.

29. Continue east past Teague Chevrolet. On the left is the Wright Vaughn Home, built in 1870 - and the oldest home standing in the town of Mt. Vernon. Dr. William C. Wright is a Rutherford descendant; this property was actually occupied by two generations of his family before he built the present house in 1870. It remained in that family for over a century.

Across Main is the M.L. Edwards Sr. home built in 1908, restored by Richard & Ginny Hamrick as the Wildflower Country Inn.

When we refer to the Wright-Vaughn home as the oldest home in the town, there are three other older homes worth mention: a small Greek Revival on South Leftwich; the Rountree House on Keith; and a Parchman house at Leftwich and Parchman - all dating from the 1800's.

30. Turn right onto Arrington Street; on the left is the Joe Arrington Home, built about 1914 by Arrington from the timbers of a much earlier Arrington house. Mr. Arrington was Franklin County Clerk for a good 40 years. Wind back to Holbrook; at the intersection with Holbrook is the Mal Moore house, now owned by the parents of our city's economic development coordinator, Teresia Wims; and turn left, proceed south to the Kneiff-Smith House.

31. If you take a side drive, you can turn on Majors Street, to the east, go one block, and you are in the Martin Addition - the first subdivision of the town - laid out about 1910; with several older homes still standing, including the Thomas House - built on a diagonal to the street - home of great-grandparents of restorationist, Richard Hamrick. And across the street is the Mitchell House, another good example of southern architecture, with its wide front porch.

Historic Buildings in Mount Vernon, Franklin County

Homes

Signs in front of each home have three information lines, the first line names the original owners, the second line lists the name of the current owners, and the third is the year of construction. Numbers on the accompanying map correspond with those in brackets in the listing ofhistorical homes and can assist people in finding the homes' location in the city. The list follows:
(1) Burns-Birdsong House, 1885/1916, Dory Cason
(2) Burns-Clinton House, 1914 , Mr. and Mrs. Hoyt Scogin
(3) Rutherford-Heywood-Hague House, 1904, Ken and Cynthia Harrison
(4) Will Tittle House, 1913, Mr. and Mrs. David Norman
(5) Tittle-Wilkinson House, 1904, Rodney and Elizabeth Adams
(6) Moss House. 1903, Mr. and Mrs. Bill Pressley
(7) Tittle-Banks House. 1914, The Austin Family
(8) Dutton-Teague House, 1882
(9) Tittle-Knox, 1913, Mr. and Mrs. Johnny Warren
(10) Dupree-Barker House, 1905, Woody Wade Family
(11) W.J. GaIt House, 1910. Robert and Mary Ann Green
(12) Dupree-Harvey House, 1905, Mr. and Mrs. Ron Barker
(13) Knox-Liles-Cannaday House, Charles Shoemake
(14) Newsome-Cannaday House, 1900, Mr. and Mrs. Ken Trantham
(15) M. L. Edwards, Sr. House, 1908, Wild Woods Country Inn
(16) Joe Arrington House, 1914, Mr. and Mrs. Chris McLarry
(17) Wright-Vaughn House, 1870, Dave Elliot (State Historic Marker)
(18) Stanton-Moore House, 1912, Mac and Anita Boyd
(19) Stephenson House, 1896, Neal Reynolds
(20) Rouse-Bridges House, 1906, Marcus and Trisha Ricks
(21) Campbell-Hunnicutt House, 1913, Ms. Frankie Cooper
(22) Hart-Mitchell House, 1912, Mrs. Clive Elledge
(23) Haydon-Thomas House, 1911, Billie Burns Hamrick
(24) Thomas-Holder House, 1890, Richard Hamrick
(25) Majors-Brakebill house, 1912, Mr. and Mrs. Bill Pressley
(26) Harp-Scott House, 1904, Debo and Sandra Ogunseinde
(27) Gertrude Smith House 1915, F.C.H.A. Accession Center
(28) Knieff-Smith House, 1906, Mr. and Mrs. Bill Pressley
(29) J.C. Stringer House, 1884
(30) Templeton-Campbell House, 1900, Mr. and Mrs. Dan Cargile
(31) Beck-Mattinson House, 1880, Michael & Tandra Collins
(32) Majors-Parchman House. 1883, Franklin County Historical Association
(33) Joyce House, 1900, James L. Hamrick III
(34) Goswick-Long-Majors House, 1911, David and Hortencia Casas
(35) Petty-Solomon House, 1895, Ms. Debbie Renner
(36) Clinton-Draper House, 1887, Cory and Sheri Beesler
(37) Holley-Gill House, 1906, Ronald and Libby Milton
(38) Pittman-Rountree House, 1902, Mr. and Mrs. Bill Bennett
(39) White-Brown House, 1910, Mrs. Kathy Shelton
(40) Haynes-Moore House, 1908, Brad and Krisan Sears
(41) Davidson-Stringer House, 1906, Mark and Claudia Huddleston
(42) Fleming House, 1903, Mr. and Mrs. Wayne McAllister
(43) Parchman-Johnson House, 1911, Mr. and Mrs. Richard T. Wims
(44) Oliver-Tinsley House, 1900, Randy and Krista Crews
(45) Talbott-Banister House, 1893, Mr. and Mrs. J.L. Pennington
(46) Talbott-Banks House, 1883, Marilyn Kohls
(47) Nance-McDonough House, 1912, Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Valenti
(48) Wilkins-Mitchell House, 1870, Danyell Shurtleff 

Historic Public Buildings

(1) Franklin County Courthouse. 1912, (State Historic Marker)
(2) Franklin County Jail, 1912, Franklin County Arts Alliance
(3) Rutherford Drugstore Building, 1877, (State Historic Marker) Southeast corner of square downtown
(4) First Baptist Church, established 1849, (State Historic Marker)
(5) Old Methodist Church Building, established 1855, (State Historic Marker), B. F. Hicks
(6) Old Railroad Depot Museum, 1894, Franklin County Historical Association
(7) Old Fire Station Museum, 1940, Franklin County Historical Association 

Other Historic Buildings in Downtown Mount Vernon 

(1) Franklin County Genealogy Society (1894)
(2) Franklin County Cultural Arts Center (1935)
(3) Franklin County Chamber of Commerce (1897)
(4) M.L. Edwards Store (1915)
(5) M & P Bank, Now Branch of First National Bank (1915)
(6) Dr. J.M. Fleming Building (1887)
(7) Parsons Parade Building (1897)

Other Historic Buildings outside Mount Vernon 

(1) Hopewell Church, 1892, Scott Harvey, located on FM 21, eight miles southeast of Mount Vernon
(2) Johnson - Anderson House, 1865, Mrs. John Anderson, located on County Road SE 4255, off Hwy 37, eight miles south of Mount Vernon
(3) Dr. H. E. Chandler House, 1911, Mr. and Mrs. Bryan Freeman, located on FM 21, nine miles southeast of Mount Vernon
(4) S. M. Long Homestead, 1910, Mr. and Mrs. M. P. Long, County Road SE 4285, five miles south of Mount Vernon
(5) J. M. Hicks Homestead, 1880, B. F. Hicks, U. S. 67, two miles west of Mount Vernon
(6) The Drummond Home, 1850, B. F. Hicks, Hopewell Community (State Historic Marker and National Register of Historic Places)
(7) The Petty - Killingsworth House, 1854, Marguerite Daniel, four miles east of Mount Vernon, on I30 S. service road
(8) The Henry Clay Thruston House (Bankhead Highway Visitor's Center, I 868, Franklin County Historical Association, 1/2 mile west of Mount Vernon on original U. S. 67 route, now County Road NW 1010
(9) The Gray - Brown House, ca. 1904. Mr. and Mrs. Pat B. Lindley, on the I30 N. service road, 3/4 mile east from Spur 423
(10) Fred Mercer House, 1913, Robert Paul Langhoff
(11) Classic Prairie Style Home, ca. 1912, Jacqueline Bateman, located 1.5 miles south of I30 on County Road SE 4105