and began to work it. After working the farm for several years they were able to save enough to purchase it and all of its equipment. They soon had three children who grew to help them on the growing farm. They purchased neighboring land, eventually owning over and building a new large home. He called the estate Willow Brook. Mount was known for his business acumen in the community and was very good at predicting the most profitable times to sell crops. In his spare time, he would lecture and teach at a county agricultural school to help other farmers learn advanced farming techniques and methods to get the greatest income from their crop sales, primarily through marketing timing and group negotiations. Mount became instrumental in the formation of several farming co-ops and became well known in the region. Political career State Senator Mount had been approached several times to run for public office by the Republican Party, to which he belonged, but had always refused. In 1888 he was nominated to run for the Indiana State Senate, despite his protests. The party at that time was losing farming votes to the Populist Party, and bringing farmers to the ticket was seen as a way to reverse the trend. He reluctantly accepted the nomination expecting to lose, but won the election in an ordinarily Democratic-controlled district. In the Democratic-controlled Senate he submitted no legislation of his own, but did support several measures he believed would benefit the farming community, including increasing funding for state agricultural programs. In 1890, his party nominated him to run for Congress, again against his wishes. He again reluctantly accepting, believing he would be defeated and not have to serve in the office. He was overwhelmingly defeated in the election, finished out his two remaining years as a state senator, and returned to his farm in 1892. The following year the nation was adversely affected by the Panic of 1893, leading to a collapse of farm and produce value. Across the state, farmers began to lose their land to their lenders. The following year in the 1894 mid-term elections the Republicans swept to power in the statehouse, and took control of the Indiana General Assembly. As a farmer, Mount was also affected by the economic downturn and decided a return to politics was the best way he could help the situation. Governor Mount sought his party's