Editing Mount Vernon, Ohio (section)

==History==
The community was [[plat]]ted in 1805, and named after [[Mount Vernon (plantation)|Mount Vernon]], the estate owned by [[George Washington]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Overman|first=William Daniel|title=Ohio Town Names|url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015015361465;view=1up;seq=109|year=1958|publisher=Atlantic Press|location=Akron, OH|page=93}}</ref>

In May 1953, the telephone exchange for the entire city was destroyed by fire, disrupting calls for months.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.fireengineering.com/articles/print/volume-106/issue-10/features/telephone-exchange-blaze-leaves-city-prey-to-fire.html|title = Telephone Exchange Blaze Leaves City Prey to Fire|date = October 1953}}</ref>

In January 1959, a severe flood caused 500 homes to be evacuated and caused $5 million in damage.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20090417234840/http://mountvernonnews.com/local/09/01/21/Flood-strikes-county-50-years-ago "Flood strikes county 50 years ago"] ''Mount Vernon News'', 21 January 2009.</ref>

===Historic sites===
The Woodward Opera House, the oldest opera theater of its kind in the United States, is located downtown. The theater, after many years of renovation and restoration, has been transformed into a local cultural and performing-arts center.

The Knox County Historical Society, with a building and extensive exhibits, makes its headquarters on Harcourt Road in Mount Vernon. Exhibits feature information about [[Dan Emmett|Daniel Decatur Emmett]], [[Paul Lynde]], The Cooper Company and other subjects.