Early Days of Mount Vernon, Arkansas
by George Washington Dalton 
 
Editor's Note: G. W. Dalton (1848-1940) wrote an article in 1933 for the Log Cabin Democrat on his recollections of Mount Vernon. Portions of this article were used by students of Mount Vernon School in their well-researched and illustrated 62-page booklet, A Look Back: A History of the Town of Mount Vernon (1989). The portions of the Dalton article not included in the students' history are re-printed below.  In 1862, 15-year old George Washington Dalton joined the Union Army (3rd Arkansas Cavalry, Company G) and served until the end of the Civil War. At his death in 1940, Dalton was the last Union veteran in Faulkner County .2

At the request of the editor of the Log Cabin Democrat I am writing a brief sketch of what was once my home town, where I was in business for a number of years, Mount Vernon, Arkansas.
 
I was well acquainted with the land upon which the town is now located back in the late 1850s, before any improvements whatever had been made on it. Mt. Vernon is 50 miles a little east of north from Little Rock and 35 miles northeast of Conway. In the latter part of the 1850s the surrounding country was becoming fairly well settled. But all who were living there then have passed away except myself and three or four others.
 
In that early day Breean Hawkins settled about one mile north of the present site of Mt. Vernon. He was considered the best educated man in our section. His son and daughter are still living near the old homestead, the daughter being nearly 100 years old.
 
The land where Mount Vernon is now still situated is rolling and was then well timbered with stately oaks and hickories. In those days these lands were subject to donation [homesteading]...
 
Tom House, a single man, returned from the war in 1865 in time to make a cotton crop, gathering six bales for his part. Cotton at that time sold for a very high price. House rented the Fears store building from Jack Crow and put in a nice stock of goods. He did a good business and in a short time began to speculate in cotton. This business of House started in 1865 may justly be considered the origin of Mount Vernon.
 
At this time a Baptist church stood a mile south of its present site and was known as Cedar Grove. In August 1865, the congregation built a brush arbor near where Davis' old garage stands and held a protracted meeting, which proved a success. [material lost] a Masonic hall. This was the first building erected in what is now Mount Vernon. House, however, at once put up a business house on the ground that Bernard Traylor's store now stands on. About this time Art Matthews put in a blacksmith shop in what is now the south part of town. As a result of a good crop in 1865 the people became enthused over this being an ideal place for an inland town. Dan Hendrickson and Tom Ussery became so interested that they built a house and put in a stock of goods at once...
 
Near this date [1877] Greer & Bacuum built a house where E. E. Jones' business house now stands and put in a stock of general supplies, employing clerks and soon develop a fine business. Later on this business went into the hands of John and Buck Crite and it went on smoothly for quite a time. While the Crite brothers were running the store a funny thing occurred. They had bought a pair of pet coons, which were allowed the freedom of the store. An office was partitioned off in the west end of the building and on a high table near a window lay a big ledger on which were booked hundreds of dollars of accounts. The ledger was open and the breeze blowing in the window caused its pages to flutter and turn. A large ink fountain was open nearby. All who have knowledge of the raccoon know how ready they are to stick their feet in a hole. These pets while playing in the office would stick their feet in the ink fountain and as the wind would turn the leaves of the ledger they would play back and forth over them, seeming to make about 500 tracks a minute and blurring many of the accounts so that they could not possibly be identified. A week later I was in town and saw a large poster on the front door: "Pet Coons for Sale."
 
The Greer & Bacuum business was run by several different clerks until 1880, when John Jones was employed as salesman. He worked for about six years and then bought the store, taking in E. E. ("Em") Jones, his brother, as his partner. They did a fine business for several years, after which Em became the sole owner. He is still [1933] running the business in fine style and is a great stay for us poor farmers to lean upon. He buys almost everything we have to sell.
 
In the early '70s Johnson Brothers from Shiloh erected a store house and put in a stock of goods, which consisted largely of liquors of various kinds. They sold to old and young, black and white-any person that had the money got the liquor. Poor men that worked hard would go there on Saturdays and rainy days and spend their hard-earned money for drink, when their families were at horne needing food and clothing. The better class of people stood this for a while and then got busy [material lost] and organized a temperance league. Women, both young and old, served as solicitors for members. The pledge required them to swear they would refrain from all intoxicating drink and use their influence to keep others from its use. In 12 months time the list showed 263 names. Through the members standing by their pledges, they managed to hold strong drink at bay until the dry laws came to their relief
 
As to education, the first school ever taught in the place was taught by a man named Mosley, in the Baptist church. Later on a small school house of one room was built in the southwest part of town. In a few years it became inadequate and about 1903 a larger house was built in the east part of town. From some cause, that also became unsatisfactory and about 1918 they built out west of town. The last-built house is on a nice ground and is a credit to any little inland town. It is turning out students each year, ready to enter college...
 
Methodists had lived in Mt. Vernon for many years, and in 1904 they built a nice frame church that is a credit to any little village. The conference appoints their preacher each year, their membership gradually increases, and their spirit seems to be above par.
 
In the early days Thomas House did a large part of his freighting on an ox wagon. Three yokes of steers would carry six bales of cotton to Judsonia and bring back from 2,500 to 3,000 pounds of merchandise, making the round trip in three and a half to four days. Now trucks make trips twice a day to Conway and return and carry two or three tons each trip.
 
Wade Ussery was a pioneer who settled in Mount Vernon in 1867. Mr. Ussery put in a small steam mill and cotton gin. He could gin from two to three bales of cotton a day and did grinding of corn for the public. Later he put in an extra set of burrs and ground wheat. The bolt was covered with muslin and the customers had to turn the bolt by hand. The flour was a little dark but it made good bread. Machinery has been run on that site ever since and has improved from time to time until at present Thompson & Sons are prepared to gin 70 bales of cotton a day.
 
In December, 1873, there arose quite an interest in the Grange movement, that was affecting other places, and the people decided upon an organization in our town. Some 15 of our 1eading men signed a petition to the state Grange for a charter. Here is a copy of the petition:
 
"Patrons of Husbandry. To all Good Patrons Everywhere: Be it known that application is hereby made by J. D. Sublett, A. F. Livingston (founder of the Log Cabin newspaper), D. W. Hendrickson, W. T. Massey, H. G. Holt, W. H. Woods, J. J. Crow, E. Harper, Frank Pruett, W. M. Morris, T. M. Vickery, A. R. Jackson, B. F. Riggins, W. S. Belew, W. R. Price, G. C. Reece, Josiah Simpson, Mrs. S. J. Hendrickson, T. P. McGlone, S. E. Holt, M. C. Woods, W. T. Mosley, W. F. Mosley, M. A. Vickery, M. A. Jackson for a dispensation from the National Grange to organize a subordinate Grange in Mt. Vernon, Ark., to be known as Enola Grange No.142."
 
The petition was granted and on January 20, 1874, the Grange was organized. It did fine work and was a boost to the town. Along in 1879 or 1880 it moved to Enola and carried its name to that little town.
 
G. W. ("Tobe") Atkisson did a fine mercantile business at Mt. Vernon for a number of years and sold out to Bernard Traylor, who has the only brick house in town. It is on the old Thomas House stand. He owns a pair of the largest trucks in town and does his own freighting. He is quite a help to the needy.
 
Many others whose names I cannot recall did business at Mt. Vernon for short periods of time.
 
Our early postal service was rather crude. The mail had to be carried from town to Caney Creek on a pony, in a pillow slip, twice a week. It was kept in House's store and handed out by any clerk as it was called for. Now at times mail is brought in by the car load.
 
Mount Vernon, like other Arkansas inland towns, has gone through the mills in its early days, but it always has had a good percentage of clean, upright people that stood for the right. Through their persistent efforts and through the temperance organization and the bone dry law they have largely achieved their aim. The rough characters have gone to some other clime and the younger generation of the present day has been brought up in good church and Sunday schools and with good educational advantages has reached a high moral standard. If any person wants to live in an elevated community, with good religious and educational advantages, Mount Vernon is the place.
 

G. W. Dalton wearing his
Union Army service medals.
 
Footnotes:
1The reader is also referred to the article by Deb Sanders, "Mount Vernon," Faulkner County: lts Land and People (Conway: Faulkner County Historical Society, 1986) pp. 308-309, which also used portions of Dalton's account.

2For more information on G. W. Dalton, see the article by Lois Dalton and Freeda Dalton Bailey, "The George Washington Dalton Family," lbid., pp. 346-347.

News from Bygone Days: At the municipal election on Tuesday, April 4, 1933, Conway citizens voted 510-290 to legalize the operation of motion picture shows on Sunday despite the strong opposition of local ministers and church groups. The owners of the Conway theaters promised not to show films during Sunday school and church hours.

Early Days of Mt. Vernon, Arkansas
Faulkner Facts and Fiddlings
Fall and Winter, 1996, Nos. 3-4, pp. 40-43