Mount Vernon

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about this stretch of Lamar County ground. Now, a hundred acres is a respectable piece of land to hand over to anybody, but Mathias Click didn't just hand it over for farming or timber. He donated it, a full hundred acres, to be the county seat.

The second county seat of Lamar County, to be precise. They called it Mount Vernon. And for a spell, Mount Vernon was the place.

Court was held there, starting in June of 1843, with John A. Rutherford serving as chief justice and John R. Craddock keeping the books as county clerk.

The business of the county ran through that place, on that donated ground, through the seasons. Then April of 1844 rolled around, and Paris was made the county seat. Just like that, Mount Vernon stepped back.

It had its moment, it did its job, and it passed the gavel along. A hundred acres, a courthouse, a chief justice, a clerk, and less than a year of being the center of things. That's the whole story right there, standing quiet on land that a man named Click once gave away for the good of a county still finding its shape.

What the marker says

Here on 100 acres donated by Mathias Click was the second county seat of Lamar County -- Mount Vernon -- where court was held June, 1843, to April, 1844 when Paris was made the county seat - John A. Rutherford, chief justice - John R. Craddock, county clerk