Region: Prairies and Lakes
In 1849, Stephen and Rebecca Keith donated land for a town site. The post
office was called Keith and then Lone Star before taking the name Mount Vernon.
Franklin County was formed from part of Red River County in 1875.
This Texas Main Street City's downtown still offers a small-town feel. The
central plaza has a picturesque gazebo and park benches. On the north side of
the square is a Grecian-style 1912 gray limestone courthouse with a chiming
clock tower.
More than 70 homes built before World War I are marked with signs designating
the original owners and year of construction. Tour maps are available.
The Cherokee Trace runs along the county's eastern edge, while the Choctaw
Trail runs through the town's center, and the Bankhead Highway (the first
east-west transcontinental automobile route through the U.S., opened in 1916)
remains the town's Main Street. Various remnants of all three of these routes
remain open to the traveling public.