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Knox County Convention & Visitors Bureau 107 South Main Street Mount Vernon, Ohio 43050 (740) 392-6102 or 1-800-837-5282 FAX: (740) 392-7840 Contact Sandy Crow - Tour Coordinator Website: www.visitknoxohio.org E-mail: info@visitknoxohio.org |
 800-297-LOOP |
Revisit the Old Times in Knox County
 Downtown Mount Vernon’s Civil War monument represents a Union Soldier looking south, which signifies the reunification of the United States after the Civil War. |
With its downtown streets lined with trees, historic homes, unique museums and delightful shopping, Knox County is filled with opportunities to discover the small-town charm and heritage that thrives among its communities.
The locals here are proud of the county’s reputation for great food, farms and festivals. The Oldtime Farming Festival, held each year in Centerburg, highlights the fascinating history of agricultural practices in Ohio. Old-fashioned cooking is the centerpiece, with items like freshmade apple butter and savory soups to tempt visitors. Farmers bring their goods directly to the public from summer through fall at the Mount Vernon Farmers’Market on the Square. Here, you can find delicious fresh produce, ripe fruits, baked goods, flowers, eggs and meats.
During the county fair, visitors can experience agriculture indoors at the Knox County Agricultural Museum in Mount Vernon. The museum depicts home and farm life in the 19th and early 20th centuries and contains over 3,000 items.
Find out all about the area’s history at The Knox County Historical Museum, also in Mount Vernon. The site includes artifacts from all aspects of Knox County history. Items of interest include a collection of 19th century Cooper farm engines, locally made quilts and memorabilia from Mount Vernon’s favorite son Daniel Decatur Emmett, the famous musician and minstrel, best known as the composer of the songs “Blue Tail Fly,” “Turkey in the Straw” and “Dixie.” In addition to his exhibit at the historical museum, Emmett’s boyhood home and gravesite are located within walking distance of downtown Mount Vernon.
 The Russell Cooper House, with dogwood trees in bloom and a motorcoach group entering the home for a tour and meal. |
In the summer, the Dan Emmett Music & Arts Festival features Emmett’s music as well as other genres, including oldies, rock, pop, bluegrass, country, folk, gospel and Christian. For an entirely different version of musical history, visit the Woodward Opera House at South Main and West Vine streets in Mount Vernon. Opened in 1851, the opera house is the oldest authentic 19th century theatre in America. The site regularly was used for theater, minstrel shows, speeches, political meetings and other special events throughout Mount Vernon’s history.
While visiting Emmett’s birthplace or the opera house in downtown Mount Vernon, take a walking tour of historic houses or visit shops with 19th century storefronts in the Heritage Centre shopping district. You’re sure to nab that unique find at Down Home Leather, Farley & Moore Antiques, Packard’s Gifts or the Potpourri Cottage.
All the sightseeing and shopping in Mount Vernon will work up an appetite. If fine dining is what you crave, The Alcove Restaurant & Lounge has been serving up an elegant menu since 1929 and can accommodate 500 people for that special event. While dining at the Alcove, you can get a taste of the community’s history by viewing several large wall murals depicting the history of the area.
 Landoll’s Castle, a popular tourist stop. |
Once outside downtown Mount Vernon, set out to explore what Knox County’s landscape has to offer. At the Knox County Career Center, a Children’s Garden courts kids of all ages. The whimsical garden features a bright, multi-colored open-air steel amphitheatre, a giant’s garden with oversized corn stalks and sunflowers, a wishing well, a butterfly house and forts overlooking a model Serpent Mound. It truly is a delight for all ages in every season.
Farther outside the city, you can join in on one of several seasonal tours. Fall Foliage drive-it yourself tours, with the help of detailed maps, lead motorists through the beautiful color spectrum of fall leaves in the rural county. In early May, Dogwood Trail Tours lead travelers past the stunning dogwood trees of the county, as they help usher in the spring.
For those with an adventurous streak who also prefer the creature comforts, The Kokosing Valley Camp and Canoe Livery on the Kokosing River has 170 campsites, hot showers, a heated pool, miniature golf and more.
 Kokosing Gap Trail |
For families who want to take a break in the country, Mohican Reservation Campgrounds and Canoeing offers scenic riverfront campsites and entertains you with everything from musical events to Indian Pow-Wows. And just next door, the Mohican Wilderness campground near Danville features baseball, tubing, kayaking and horseback riding, as well as tents, cabins and tepee rentals, letting guests really experience the outdoors. The Mohican Wilderness also hosts a Bluegrass Festival and Johnny Appleseed Festival each fall.
Other annual events in Knox County include the Fredericktown Tomato Show in September, where two huge parades, rides, entertainment and more take over Main Street for four days of revelry; the Danville- Howard Turkey Festival in June with a parade, turkey dinner, rides and scrumptious food; the Knox County Fair in July, full of all the agriculture, food competitions and family attractions that you would expect at any great fair; and the Mount Vernon Christmas Walk, featuring horse-drawn wagon rides, roasted chestnuts, cider and cocoa to help shoppers get in the holiday spirit.
For more information on any of the attractions in Knox County, call the Convention and Visitor’s Bureau at (740) 392-6102 or 1-800-837-5282 or visit their website at www.visitknoxohio.org.
Hotels/Bed & Breakfasts
Hotels
 The Johnny Appleseed Outdoor Drama stage and cast during the premiere performance in June 2004. |
Comfort Inn
150 Howard Street
Mount Vernon, OH 43050
(740) 392-6886
1-800-480-8221
gm.oh323@choicehotels.com
Curtis Inn on the Square
6 Public Square
Mount Vernon, Ohio 43050
1-800-934-6835
The Harcourt Motel
400 Harcourt Rd.
Mount Vernon, Ohio 43050
(740) 397-0490
Heritage House
307 N. Main St.
Mount Vernon, Ohio 43050
(740) 392-9301
Holiday Inn Express
11555 Upper Gilchrist Rd.
Mount Vernon, Ohio 43050
(740) 392-1900
hiemv@veroom.net
The Kenyon Inn
100 W. Wiggin St.
Gambier, Ohio 43022
(740) 427-2202
Super 8 Motel
1000 Coshocton Ave.
Mount Vernon, Ohio 43050
1-800-800-8000
Bed & Breakfasts
The Accent House
405 North Main Street
Mount Vernon, OH 43050
(740) 392-6466
sleep@theaccenthouse.com
The Chaney Manor
7864 Newark Rd.
Mount Vernon, Ohio 43050
(740) 392-2304
www.thechaneymanorbandb.com
Felicia’s Guest House
10996 Banning Rd.
Mount Vernon, Ohio 43050
(740) 397-2279
mandorfer@ecr.net
The Gambier House
107 E. Wiggin St.
Gambier, Ohio 43022
(740) 427-2668
The Home Place
1322 Wooster Rd.
Mount Vernon, Ohio 43050
(740) 393-2301
Indian Bear Lodge
3483 McCament Rd.
Walhonding, Ohio 43843
(740) 668-2100
Locust Grove Ranch
12480 Dunham Rd.
Mount Vernon, Ohio 43050
(740) 392-6443
The Mount Vernon Inn
601 W. High St.
Mount Vernon, Ohio 43050
(740) 392-9881
themountvernoninn@ecr.net
Red Fox Country Inn
26367 Danville-Amity Rd.
Danville, Ohio 43014
(740) 599-7369
The Russell-Cooper House
115 E. Gambier St.
Mount Vernon, Ohio 43050
(740) 397-8638
innkeeper@russell-cooper.com
The White Oak Inn
29683 Walhonding Rd.
Danville, Ohio 43014
(740) 599-6107