Mount Vernon is a town and the county seat of Franklin County, Texas, set in the Piney Woods of Northeast Texas near Interstate 30. The 2020 census counted 2,491 residents. Franklin County was organized in 1875, and Mount Vernon has served as its seat since, anchored by a courthouse-square downtown that is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The town has carved out an unusual identity as a Northeast Texas arts center. The Old Jail Art Museum, housed in a 1912 jail, presents changing exhibitions; a cultural arts center occupies a converted garage a block from downtown; and Mount Vernon Music brings chamber and concert programming to the community. Galleries, studios, and the Franklin County Arts Alliance reinforce a creative character rare in a town of Mount Vernon's size. The other half of Mount Vernon's identity is the lake country around it. Lake Cypress Springs and Lake Bob Sandlin — the latter with a Texas state park — lie just south of town and support boating, fishing, camping, and lakefront development. That water access draws weekend visitors, retirees, and second-home buyers alongside the town's long-established farming and ranching population. Mount Vernon ISD, the county's consolidated school district, serves students from across Franklin County. Local institutions include the Franklin County Historical Association and the Firestation Museum, which preserve the county's pioneer and railroad heritage, and the town square remains a gathering point for events and festivals. The town's position near Interstate 30 links it to Mount Pleasant, Paris, and the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex to the west. For homebuyers, Mount Vernon offers a historic small-town center, an active arts community, and the recreational appeal of two major East Texas lakes, all within commuting distance of the region's larger towns.