A tiny historic hamlet, Vernon, founded in 1815, sits on the banks of the Muscatatuck River.

Civil War connections

On July 11, when John Hunt Morgan demanded the surrender of Vernon. Colonel Hugh T. Williams, Indiana Legion, replied that Morgan “must take it by hard fighting.” No major battle occurred and Morgan‘s cavalry withdrew toward Dupont, Jefferson County where legend has it that a young girl yelled a curse at Morgan’s Raiders as they road by and one of the soldiers told her he’d come back to marry her, which he did.

The town has another connection to the Civil War. The 1820s Federal style row houses were stops on Indiana’s [Underground Rail Road] and have changed little since then.

Downtown

Take time to stroll the historic downtown, stopping at the North American House built in 1838 by Thomas J. Storey and now the home of the Jennings County Historical Society and Museum. The house was used as a stagecoach stop and an inn. The house has also served as a drug store, wallpaper store, boarding house, and private residence.