It was in 1826 that attorney Henry Curtis encouraged his friend, Bishop Philander Chase, to bring Kenyon College from Worthington to the rural countryside that would soon become Gambier, Ohio.
In 1828, Johnny Appleseed sold one of his downtown Mount Vernon lots and moved into western Ohio and on to Indiana. A year later, in 1829, our second courthouse became weakened and collapsed, and was soon replaced by a third, very beautiful courthouse, located near the northwest corner of the square. Our county population was then given at 8,326.
In the early 1830's, young Dan Emmett ran off to join the Army, and a few years later he launched his musical and minstrel show career.
In 1833, brothers Charles and Elias Cooper established their foundry business in Mount Vernon, which over a period of nearly 200 years has produced locomotives, agricultural farm engines, and a wide variety of industrial engines for factories and compressors for gasline transmission, continuing through good and bad economic eras and through numerous name changes right up to the present day.
Newspapers such as the Knox County Gazette, The Western Aurora, The Mount Vernon Republican, The Democratic Banner, and The True Whig arrived during these years to promote a variety of political and social points of view. While many faltered along the way, others succeeded, and eventually The Republican News and The Daily Banner merged in 1939 to become today's Mount Vernon News.
Knox Countians participated in the Texas War for Independence in 1836, and with many others from Ohio in the War with Mexico in 1846.
Mount Vernon was visited in 1846 by Ohio historian, Henry Howe, as part of his statewide research for the first edition of his upcoming splendid new book.
Many new communities were established throughout Knox County during these years, including Amity, Ankenytown, Bladensburg, Brandon, Brinkhaven (as Nonpareil), Centerburg, Chesterville, Gambier, Howard, Jelloway, Lock, Lucerne, Martinsburg, Millwood, Monroe Mills, Mount Liberty, North Liberty, Sparta, and Wolfe's.
The first U. S. postage stamps were issued in 1847 but were available in Knox County only at Fredericktown and Gambier, even though 34 new post offices opened here during these years.
The year 1848 saw the establishment by Henry B. Curtis, and others, of the Knox County Bank of Mount Vernon, a branch of the State Bank of Ohio.
That same year, the formation of Morrow County took away from "Old Knox" our three townships north of Centerburg. Not everyone was happy with the change, to say the least.
Our first Knox County Fair was held in 1849, also the year that a number of leading Knox County citizens formed our first, though short-lived, Knox County Historical Society.
Many of our county's beautiful homes, featuring Greek Revival and other architectural styles, were planned and constructed during these years as well.