Mt. Vernon, Missouri

City Parks

Williams Creek Park and the "Spirit of 76" Recreation Complex - Mt. Vernon's largest and newest park is the "Spirit of 76"

The 2nd "Old Jail"

The county's first log jail burned in 1854, and a brick structure was built on Walter Street a block west of the square. It is presently undergoing reconstruction for historical preservation. It was used until 1868, and had an original cost of $3,500.

Harold Bell Wright

Many know that Harold Bell Wright's, "Shepherd of the Hills" was the most widely read book of fiction in the history of publishing! Few know, however, that many of the places, events, and characters are based on actual models. There really was an "old shepherd of Mutton Hollow,&

Rebel's Bluff

Grave of the Old Shepherd

In his book, "Old Matt's View of It," J.K. Ross wrote about the death of the Old Shepherd from Mutton Hollow. He was gored to death by a bull. A Civil War tombstone marks the grave of James Marion Wood, who met this untimely fate in 1910