The Harlan House Hotel is a historic building located in

Mount Pleasant, Iowa Mount Pleasant is a city in and the county seat of Henry County, Iowa. The population was 9,274 in the 2020 census, an increase from 8,668 in the 2010 census. It was founded in 1835 by pioneer Presley Saunders. History The first permanent s ...

, United States. It is associated with James Harlan, the first

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to represent

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to th ...

in the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

(1855-1865, 1867–1872). with He was also Secretary of the Interior (1865-1867). His daughter

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was the wife of

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, President

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's only surviving son. Harlan built the oldest part of this building as his house in 1857. After his career as a Senator, he could no longer afford the house and bought another house in Mount Pleasant. Harlan built the first addition onto his old house and converted it into a hotel so he could support himself. He added onto the hotel two more times, c. 1880 and 1892. The first two additions are on the alley side of the building, and the third addition faces Jefferson Street. The middle section of the building with the bracketed cornice and mansard roof is the original house. Harlan moved into the hotel in the early 1890s and died here in 1899. A few minor alterations were made to the building in the 20th century. It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

in 1987.

References

Hotel buildings completed in 1892 Buildings and structures in Mount Pleasant, Iowa National Register of Historic Places in Henry County, Iowa Hotel buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Iowa Italianate architecture in Iowa {{Iowa-struct-stub