About

Mont Vernon at a Glance

• Established: 1803 
• County: Hillsborough
• Elevation: 820 feet 
• Population: 2366 
• Average January Temperature: 21.8°F
• Average July Temperature: 69.5°F
• Size: 16.8 sq. miles

INFORMATION: The town of Mont Vernon is located in the hills of south-central New Hampshire, in the New England region of the United States. The town still maintains a very rural character while offering proximity to the cultural and recreational activities of the New England area.

Mont Vernon borders the northwestern side of the Town of Amherst. The town is only a short drive to Manchester or Nashua from Mont Vernon and Boston is 59 miles away. It is considered a suburban New Hampshire town with many rural qualities. Mont Vernon has one school – the Mont Vernon Village (Elementary) School, which serves kindergarten to sixth grade. Other students who attend public school go to Amherst Middle School or Souhegan High School. A Board of Selectmen governs the town of 2,347 residents. Mont Vernon also has a police department and an "On Call" fire department. The Mont Vernon Historical Society Museum is located upstairs in the Town Hall. There are many beautiful hiking trails, and lots of open land that the residents use for fishing, hunting, cross country skiing etc... Purgatory Falls is only accessable by foot, and is beautiful any time of the year.

HISTORY: The Town of Mont Vernon incorporated itself in 1803 after it split from the Town of Amherst. Many of the town’s residents thought the distance to the Amherst Courthouse was too far to travel for town meetings, thus the community members decided to form their own town. It is said that the name Mont Vernon derives from Mount Vernon in Virginia, the home of President George Washington. The drop of the letter “u” in the name has been disputed over the years and until the 1920s there was still some disagreement. In the late 1800s, Mont Vernon was a resort town for Boston residents retreating to the mountains of New Hampshire. However, with the invention of the automobile and the financial hardships stemming from Great Depression, Mont Vernon’s many resort hotels lost appeal and are no longer in existence. Today, Mont Vernon hosts two annual celebrations: “Lamson Farm Day” which celebrates the town’s agricultural history and the “Mont Vernon Spring Gala.”

(the preceeding was taken from nh.com website)