[2] Mount Vernon is part of the Cedar Rapids Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Mount Vernon was laid out in 1847,[3] but its origins date back to at least 1838, when it was known as Pinhook, a rest stop on Military Road, which ran between Dubuque, on the Mississippi River, and Iowa City.

This "mountain" is actually a paha, a ridge formed of sand and loess along the line of the prevailing wind during the ice ages.

[8] The Mount Vernon paha is roughly one mile (2 km) long and 1/4 mile (1/2 km) wide, aligned along a roughly northwest to southeast axis and rising up to 100 feet (30 m) above the surrounding landscape.

The main line of the Union Pacific Railroad passes through the city, and the town is located on the historic Lincoln Highway.

The CRANDIC interurban electric railway ran from Cedar Rapids, through downtown Mount Vernon, and ended in nearby Lisbon.

The interurban ran from 1914 to 1928 and took 45 minutes to travel to the western terminus of Cedar Rapids.

The city's population was 3,390 when the 2000 census figures were released, but that number was later revised to 3,808 because the Census Bureau had incorrectly reported that 418 residents of Cornell College dormitories in Mount Vernon lived in the nearby city of Bertram.

Located on Highway 30, is local artist Mark Benesh's rendition of Grant Wood's American Gothic, on the side of a barn.

Several blocks in Uptown Mount Vernon are closed to traffic, and people from all over are encouraged to create their own artwork on more than 4,000 square feet (370 m2) of the main street.

[15] Magical Night, a downtown Christmas festival, takes place in December.

Other events include the Chocolate Stroll, Heritage Days, Chili Cook-Off, and Uptown Thursday Nights.

"Every now and then, you stumble upon a town that's gotten everything right—great coffee, food with character, shop owners with purpose.

"[15] Mount Vernon is the home of Cornell College, a liberal arts institution with an enrollment of approximately 1,200 students.

The middle school at the time, however, instead was located uptown in what is now the First Street Community Center.

In the United States general elections, 2006, Cornell College political science professor David Loebsack was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in an upset victory over 15-term incumbent Jim Leach.