 In 1998, Mount Vernon was rated the #1 "Best Small City in America" by the "New Rating Guide to Life in America's Small Cities".Jasper Gates and Joseph Dwelley first settled on the banks of the Skagit River, where the city of Mount Vernon now lies, in 1870.Later on, Harrison Clothier came to the community in 1877 to teach school and join in business with a former student, E.G.