Mount Vernon in Franklin County, Texas — The American South (West South Central)

Joshua Foster Johnson

(September 27, 1824 - February 15, 1877)

Photographed by Duane and Tracy Marsteller, October 7, 2023

1. Joshua Foster Johnson Marker

Inscription. Came to Texas from Tennessee in 1845, settling (1846) near site of Mount Vernon, which he helped found (as town of Keith) in 1848. Member 3rd Texas Legislature (1849-50); sponsored Mount Vernon Male and Female Academies bill – leading to public school system. Member Secession Convention, 1861; Constitutional Convention, 1875. As pastor, helped organize Mount Vernon Baptist Church. Married Amanda C. Wright; they had seven sons, three daughters.

Erected 1973 by Texas Historical Commission. (Marker Number 9846.)

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Education • Government & Politics • Religion & Religious Structures • Settlements & Settlers. A significant historical year for this entry is 1845.

Location. 33° 11.254′ N, 95° 12.816′ W. Marker is in Mount Vernon, Texas, in Franklin County. It can be reached from Main Street (U.S. 67) east of County Road NE 2010, on the right when traveling east. Marker is in Mount Vernon City Cemetery. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 502 Main St, Mount Vernon TX 75457, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally,

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this marker is in the American South

and in the Piney Woods.

Globally, it is in North America,

a Gulf of Mexico state,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain,

the Republic of Texas,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 2 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: The Wright-Vaughan House (approx. 0.3 miles away); Rutherford Drugstore (approx. 0.4 miles away); First Baptist Church of Mount Vernon (approx. half a mile away); Franklin County Courthouse (approx. half a mile away); Site of the Merchants and Planters National Bank (approx. half a mile away); First United Methodist Church of Mount Vernon (approx. half a mile away); Franklin County (approx. 1.2 miles away); Historic Roadside Park (approx. 1.7 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Mount Vernon.

Also see . . . Joshua Foster Johnson. In the fall of 1847 Johnson and his family moved to Titus County, where he purchased a farm near Mount Vernon. In 1849 he was

Photographed by Duane and Tracy Marsteller, October 7, 2023

2. Joshua Foster Johnson Marker

elected representative from Titus County to the Third Legislature; at age twenty-five, he was the youngest member. (Cecil Harper, Jr., Handbook of Texas, Texas State Historical Association) (Submitted on October 25, 2023, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.)

Credits. This page was last revised on November 20, 2025. It was originally submitted on October 25, 2023, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. This page has been viewed 442 times since then and 28 times this year. Last updated on November 20, 2025, by Dave W of Co, Colorado. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on October 25, 2023, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. • James Hulse was the editor who published this page.