Mount Vernon community shows respect for local history
Mount Vernon was home to one of Alabama’s largest mental health hospitals for more than a century, but its closure in 2012 delivered a blow to the town, where the hospital employed many of the 1,200 residents. The hospital sits abandoned, but the community began coming together in 2024 to renovate the McCafferty House, a 19th-century home on the old hospital grounds that was in danger of dilapidation. “It’s completely funded by the community,” says Stephanie Pope, president of the Mount Vernon Historic Preservation Society. “One of our people on our team brought a tractor [to clear brush] and discovered an asphalt road that was another entrance to the facility.” This is an example of the respect locals have for their community’s long history. “All the streets are named for people who are significant in our history, who came from Louisiana and Florida and established who we are now,” Pope says. “The historical homes there are so well-groomed and maintained.” Though the hospital is shuttered, Mount Vernon is still cherished by locals as a small, laid-back community north of Mobile surrounded by rural land and the Mobile River.
Properties become bigger and more rural farther from town
There are a few historical houses from the late 1800s and early 1900s, but most properties are ranch homes and minimal traditional houses occupying lots measuring half an acre or more. The landscape varies from wooded thickets that surround houses with oaks and kudzu to flat, open fields sometimes grazed by cattle. Farther from the center of town, homes may come with dozens of acres of land. Houses don’t trade hands often, but the median price is around $180,000. Mt. Vernon’s CAP Index Crime Score is 2 out of 10, lower than the national average of 4.
Students zoned to Mobile County Public Schools
Kids in Mount Vernon can go to North Mobile County K-8 School, graded a C-plus by Niche. Students at B-minus-rated Citronelle High School can join one of six career-specific academies. The school’s signature academy specializes in manufacturing, allowing teens to focus on courses in one of four pathways: advanced manufacturing, automotive, engineering or welding.
McCafferty House is one piece of town’s varied history
The Mount Vernon Historic Preservation Society and other locals have carried out phases of renovations on the McCafferty House, restoring it room by room. The historic society hosts open houses to allow the community to gather and see the progress. Pope and her team also organized the 2025 May Market, a vendor fair to raise money for the McCafferty House restoration. The complex next to the McCafferty House has a long history in Mount Vernon. Before it was a hospital, it was a military arsenal. The U.S. Army incarcerated Apache leader Geronimo there after his capture in the 1880s. Geronimo soon became known around Mount Vernon, Pope says. ‘“He wasn’t held as a prisoner of war. They would let him roam the town. He’d get a train to Mobile and attend balls, but he had to be back by dark.”
Recreation includes sports and events at the municipal park
A nationwide nonprofit built a playground at Mount Vernon Municipal Park in 2013, installing equipment such as a bird nest swing that can fit multiple kids at once. The park also has a baseball diamond and football field. Mount Vernon celebrates July Fourth at the park every year with hot dogs, crafts booths and a car show. Older residents may hang out at the Mount Vernon Senior Center for games of dominoes and bingo. To the east, a ramp lets boaters and paddlers hit the Mobile River for a day on the water. Residents can reach Gulf Coast beach towns like Dauphin Island in about an hour.
Fresh seafood and groceries available along Route 43
The highway through the middle of Mount Vernon hosts the community’s few businesses, including Eddie Jordan’s Fresh Seafood Market, where some people drive from Mobile for catfish, frog legs and crawdads. A roughly 2-mile drive south on the highway passes DG Market and Mount Vernon Pharmacy before leading to Piggly Wiggly. “I love to drive 15 miles up the road from my house road to shop at their grocery store because it’s so cozy,” Pope says. “The people are so sweet and ingrained in the community.” For a wider selection of stores or restaurants, locals head to the shopping centers 25 miles south in Saraland or 30 miles north in Jackson.
Using Route 43 and interstates to get around
Residents mostly use cars to get around, and Route 43 isn’t far from most homes. The highway leads about 30 minutes south to Mobile. Interstates 10 and 65 cross through the county, connecting drivers to Pensacola, 90 minutes southeast, as well as Montgomery and New Orleans, both two and a half hours away.
Written By
Alex Soderstrom
