[5] The city is named after Mount Vernon, the estate of George Washington.

[7] It sits on high ground 1 mile (1.6 km) east of the Oconee River, which forms the Wheeler County line.

[1] As of the 2020 United States census, there were 1,990 people, 841 households, and 554 families residing in the city.

The school received national attention in the New York Times for unofficially sponsoring separate, segregated proms for white and black students.

It is one of 178 school districts in the United States with an open, active desegregation order.