Vernon is a town in Windham County, of the Southern Vermont region, and was the home of Vermont Yankee, Vermont's only nuclear power plant.

Originally included in the Massachusetts grant for Northfield and once part of the town of Hinsdale NH, Vernon had discussed seceding from Vermont to New Hampshire or Massachusetts if Vermont legislators imposed taxes on Vermont Yankee, or attempted to take away Vermont Yankee's operating permit, which was up for renewal in 2012.

In March 2011, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) extended its license for another 20 years, but the plant's continued operation was complicated by the Vermont state legislature's enactment of a law providing the state legislature authority to determine the continued operation of the plant, in addition to the federal government. In January 2012, Entergy won a court case invalidating the state's veto power on continued operations, however on August 28, 2013, they announced that due to economic factors Vermont Yankee would cease operations in the fourth quarter of 2014. The plant was officially shut down at 12:12 pm EST on December 29, 2014.

A notable person from the area was Jonathan Hunt, a member of the United States House of Representatives and the prominent Hunt family of Vermont.