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Vernon, the county seat of Lamar County is located in the heart of rural, northwest Alabama. Vernon, a city rich in history, is built around the square where the first courthouse was built after the county was created in 1867. The county has been variously called Jones County, Sanford County, and finally Lamar County. Courthouse expansions and renovations took place in 1894, 1909, and 1946, and 1997, but the vaults put in place in 1894, are still intact. Records in the courthouse date back to 1867.

Other landmarks include the Jason Guin home, where the first elected Sheriff of the county kept his prisoners, the Rush house, built around 1867, and the City of Vernon Museum, which is located in the old Bank of Vernon building, constructed in 1910. The museum, itself, houses a remarkable collection of memorabilia which documents area history of the first Indian residents and early settlers. Adjacent to the museum, the Mary Wallace Cobb Memorial Library houses a growing genealogy department which includes one-of-a-kind computer records. The Library is also on-line, with three work stations. Exquisite paintings and other art objects of the Minerva Hankins Lollar Art Gallery are on display throughout the City Hall-Museum-Library complex.

Vernon also has a one-of-a-kind Saturday evening attraction, the Back Street Opry, held in an old theater building. The Opry, known for its country music, draws crowds from all over. Best of all, the Opry is free! Other attractions include the City Park, which provides softball, baseball, and tennis facilities, as well as a lighted walking track and two pavilions. The Western Hills Park in Vernon is located near the football field and provides a regulation baseball facility. Antique hunters can spend hours or days in the Antique Mall and numerous other antique and gift shops.

Area residents love their sports: high school football in the fall, basketball in winter, and softball and baseball in spring and summer. Of course, the sports activities are more enjoyable because of highly talented Lamar County High School Band of Gold. Hunting and fishing are also great pastimes in the Vernon area, where there are any number of hunting clubs and lakes, public and private. Game includes deer, squirrel, and turkey and fish include bass, bream, and crappie! The nearby Lamar County Country Club also offers golfing, a pastime enjoyed by many.

For residents who prefer city lights, Vernon is a quiet spot nestled in lovely hill country, just thirty minutes from Columbus, Mississippi, and the Columbus Air Force Base, and only sixty minutes from Tuscaloosa, Alabama. State highways seventeen and eighteen cross in Vernon, and the county also operates an airport. Vernon is also considered the "trucking capitol of the world," with five large and growing trucking companies, some of which serve Vernon’s varied industrial residents such as Chromalox, Marathon, and Omni.

A state-of-the-art health facility is just six minutes outside Vernon, which also boasts three medical clinics and two dental clinics. The city is within twenty minutes of Bevill State Junior College and thirty minutes of a senior college. New buildings in Vernon include a Public Health Department, the Department of Human Resources, the Lamar County Judicial Building, and a new four-twelve school. Recently, the City of Vernon, the Lamar County Department of Education, and local businesses and industries combined efforts and built an elementary gym. Plans are also on the drawing board for the City of Vernon to renovate the old Lamar County High School building and create a multi-purpose center there, right after the completion of the new school!

The City of Vernon, a Prepared City, offers a continuing community calendar, via the local cable company’s Channel 12. The calendar relates all upcoming city and county events and gives schedules, such as solid waste and recycle pick-up times. Vernon boasts an award-winning recycle program, with weekly curbside residential pickup. Vernon’s utility costs are modest, and the ad-valorem taxes are minuscule. There are four large public housing complexes, several private apartment complexes, four sub-divisions, a motel and a bed and breakfast. For those who prefer more elbow room, the outskirts of the city offers land for building, gardening, and animal husbandry, in the best of pleasant rural surroundings.

In short, whether you come to see or stay, you will love Vernon, and we believe that if you come to see . . . you will come to stay!

COMMUNITY PROFILE

City Name: Vernon

Population: 2,390

County Name: Lamar

Population: 15,715

County Average Growth Rate: N/A

Per Capita Income: $16,254.00

Median Family Income: $24,381.00

LOCATION AND TRANSPORTATION

Commercial Airline : No

Nearest Regional Airport: Golden Triangle Regional- Columbus, MS

Distance to: 38 miles

Interstate Highways : No

If no, then distance to interstate highways: 60 miles

Four Lane Highways : Highway 17

State Highways : Alabama 17&18

Distance to...

Atlanta: 225 miles

Birmingham: 100 miles

Mobile: 244 miles

Nashville: 225 miles

Tallahassee: 350 miles

Nearest Coastal City (Name/Distance): Gulf Shores 300 miles

Public Transportation : No

CRIME STATISTICS

Crime Index:

National:

State:

COST OF LIVING INDEX

Please list the MSA of at least one large city in your region: Anniston

LOCAL TAXES

Property Taxes on $100,000 home with Homestead Exemption: $259.00

Total Millage Rate: 28 mills

Sales Tax (Total): 8%

Automobile Tax & Tag on $15,000 car: $24.25

HOUSING COSTS

Approximate cost of 1,800 sq.ft. Home with two-car garage - 5 to 10 yrs old: $65,000 to $75,000

Approximate cost of 1,800 sq.ft. Home with two-car garage - new: $108,000

UTILITIES/SERVICES

Public Water : Yes

Cost per 1000 gallons: $10.50

Public Sewer: Yes  

If yes, Approximate percent of community with sewage service: 75%

Cost of Sewage Service: $8.93 for first 2000 gallons

Electricity, Cost per 1000 kwh: $70.00

Garbage Service Cost: $13.00

Number of Pick-ups per Week: 1

Cost for Basic Cable TV Service: $15.00

Number of Channels: 2-41 $37.99 or Digital 151 Channels $47.94

Percent of community coverage: 75%

HEALTH CARE

Number of Physicians:

City: 1

County: 4

Number of hospital Beds: 

City: 0

County:0

Nursing Home Facilities: 1

Assisted Living Facilities: under construction

Regional Health Care Center : Yes

Distance to regional healthcare center: 4 miles

MILITARY POSTS

Military Posts : No

Name/Distance to: Vernon National Guard Armory

Military Links: 

RELIGION

Places of Worship: 7

Denominations: Baptist,  Methodist, Free Will, Church of Christ, Nazarene, Assembly of God..

WEATHER (High, Mean, Low)

Spring: 75, 65, 50

Summer: 95, 80, 65

Fall: 70, 55, 45

Winter: 45, 35, 20

Rainfall: 8 inch monthly average

Snow: 0

LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES

Post/Secondary Institutions : No

Name/Distance: Bevill State Community College - 20 miles, MUW in Columbus 30 miles 

Public Library:  Mary Wallace Cobb Memorial Library

TOURISM/RECREATION

Community Recreation Programs: Roller Skating, Public Swimming Pool, City Park, Backstreet Opry, Fishing, Hunting, Walking Trails. 

Senior Programs: Plenty is offered at the local housing authority for seniors as well as every Saturday night entertainment at the Backstreet Opry- it's free!

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