Mount Pleasant is a city in and the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

of Henry County in the U.S. state of

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

. 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 settlement at Mount Pleasant was made in 1833. Mount Pleasant was incorporated as a town in 1842, and again in 1851. In 1869, Mount Pleasant was the site of a

solar eclipse A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby obscuring the view of the Sun from a small part of Earth, totally or partially. Such an alignment occurs approximately every six months, during the eclipse season i ...

expedition, under the command of James Craig Watson and sponsored by ''National Almanac.'' The total solar eclipse occurred on August 7, 1869. In the Union Block building in 1869, Arabella A. Mansfield became the first woman in the United States to be awarded a license to practice law. She had passed the bar exam with high scores and won a court case for entry to the bar. The legislature changed its statute. The third floor of the Union Block housed the Opera House or Union Hall, a gathering place for the community. It attracted national speakers on tour, including abolitionists

Frederick Douglass Frederick Douglass (born Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey, February 14, 1818 – February 20, 1895) was an American social reformer, Abolitionism in the United States, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman. He was the most impor ...

Sojourner Truth Sojourner Truth (; born Isabella Bomefree; November 26, 1883) was an American Abolitionism in the United States, abolitionist and activist for African-American civil rights, women's rights, and Temperance movement, alcohol temperance. Truth was ...

, and

Anna Dickinson Anna Elizabeth Dickinson (October 28, 1842 – October 22, 1932) was an American orator and lecturer. An advocate for the abolition of slavery and for women's rights, Dickinson was the first woman to give a political address before the United Sta ...

. James Harlan also spoke there, as he was president of

Iowa Wesleyan College Iowa Wesleyan University was a private university in Mount Pleasant, Iowa, United States. It was Iowa's first co-educational institution of higher learning and the oldest of its type west of the Mississippi River. The institution was affiliated ...

in the town, and later was elected several times to the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

. This building had been considered one of the most endangered historic sites in Iowa. The

Mount Pleasant Mental Health Institute The Mount Pleasant Mental Health Institute was a psychiatric institution located in Mount Pleasant, Iowa, USA. Originally known as the Iowa Lunatic Asylum, it opened in 1861.Kirkbride BuildingsMount Pleasant State Hospital/ref> It is located on ...

was built in 1861. However, in 1936, a fire did great damage to the original building. Beginning in 1976, many of the hospital facilities were transferred to the Mount Pleasant Correctional Facility, which still occupies the campus. The hospital itself was closed in 2015. On December 10, 1986, Ralph Orin Davis, a resident, walked into a city council meeting and shot Mayor Edward King and two council members. Mayor King died of his wounds after being shot point blank in the head. The 69-year-old gunman had attended a couple of previous meetings, complaining about a backed-up sewer and wanting the city to pay for damages to his house. The two council members were seriously wounded.

Tom Vilsack Thomas James Vilsack (; born December 13, 1950) is an American politician. He served as the 30th and 32nd United States secretary of agriculture from 2009 to 2017, during the Obama administration, and again from 2021 to 2025 during the Biden admi ...

became the replacement mayor, later serving as

Governor of Iowa A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the type of political region or polity, a ''governor'' ma ...

for 8 years, and then

Secretary of Agriculture The United States secretary of agriculture is the head of the United States Department of Agriculture. The position carries similar responsibilities to those of agriculture ministers in other governments The department includes several organiz ...

under the

Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. Ob ...

and

Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...

administrations. MT PLEASANT CITY HALL-1

Geography

Mount Pleasant is in central Henry County at the intersection of US Routes

218 Year 218 ( CCXVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Severus and Adventus (or, less frequently, year 971 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 218 for th ...

and 34.''Iowa Atlas & Gazetteer,'' DeLorme, 7th Edition, 2021, p. 61 According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the city has a total area of , of which, is land and is water. Mount Pleasant's

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

is estimated at 1,123 people per square mile, which is considered low for urban areas.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2020, there were 9,274 people, 3,218 households, and 1,926 families residing in the city. The

was 1,074.8 inhabitants per square mile (415.0/km²). There were 3,501 housing units at an average density of 405.8 per square mile (156.7/km²). The

racial Race is a categorization of humans based on shared physical or social qualities into groups generally viewed as distinct within a given society. The term came into common usage during the 16th century, when it was used to refer to groups of va ...

makeup of the city was 80.7%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 4.9% Black or African American, 0.5% Native American, 4.2% Asian, 0.0%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 3.8% from other races and 5.8% from two or more races.

Hispanic or Latino ''Hispanic'' and '' Latino'' are ethnonyms used to refer collectively to the inhabitants of the United States who are of Spanish or Latin American ancestry (). While many use the terms interchangeably, for example, the United States Census Bureau ...

persons of any race comprised 8.7% of the population. Of the 3,218 households, 27.1% of which had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.8% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 6.9% were cohabitating couples, 30.6% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present and 19.7% had a male householder with no spouse or partner present. 40.1% of all households were non-families. 35.0% of all households were made up of individuals, 16.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years old or older. The median age in the city was 36.8 years. 22.7% of the residents were under the age of 20; 10.2% were between the ages of 20 and 24; 26.7% were from 25 and 44; 22.7% were from 45 and 64; and 17.7% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 54.2% male and 45.8% female.

2010 census

As of the

of 2010, there were 8,668 people, 3,127 households, and 1,935 families living in the city. The

was . There were 3,365 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 85.7%

, 4.3%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.4% Native American, 4.4% Asian, 0.3%

, 2.4% from other races, and 2.5% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 6.7% of the population. There were 3,127 households, of which 30.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.1% were

living together, 10.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.9% had a male householder with no wife present, and 38.1% were non-families. 33.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.31 and the average family size was 2.94. The median age in the city was 37.3 years. 21.1% of residents were under the age of 18; 12.3% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 26.5% were from 25 to 44; 24.8% were from 45 to 64; and 15.3% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 52.7% male and 47.3% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 8,751 people, 3,119 households, and 1,940 families living in the city. The population density was . There were 3,355 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 90.46%

, 3.19%

, 0.32% Native American, 3.53% Asian, 0.06%

, 0.73% from other races, and 1.71% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 1.79% of the population. There were 3,119 households, out of which 31.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.3% were

living together, 9.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.8% were non-families. 33.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.34 and the average family size was 3.01. Age spread: 22.5% under the age of 18, 11.6% from 18 to 24, 31.5% from 25 to 44, 20.2% from 45 to 64, and 14.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 110.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 113.6 males. The median income for a household in the city was $35,558, and the median income for a family was $46,063. Males had a median income of $31,524 versus $22,628 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the city was $16,824. About 8.3% of families and 10.2% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 11.5% of those under age 18 and 9.4% of those age 65 or over.

Arts and culture

Mount Pleasant is also home to the Midwest Old Thresher's Reunion which attracts a crowd numbering over 100,000 admissions annually during an extended five-day weekend which ends on Labor Day. The reunion dates back to 1950 and pays tribute to the agricultural heritage of the American Midwest in an extensive, highly interactive manner, with live-action exhibition-style displays centering on restored mechanical equipment, particularly steam engines, farm tractors, stationary gas engines, antique and classic cars, the narrow-gauge Midwest Central Railroad, and electric trolleys.

Economy

Mount Pleasant is home to manufacturing, distribution and

agribusiness Agribusiness is the industry, enterprises, and the field of study of value chains in agriculture and in the bio-economy, in which case it is also called bio-business or bio-enterprise. The primary goal of agribusiness is to maximize profit ...

companies. The more prominent businesses are Wal-Mart Distribution Center, Lomont Molding, Innovaire, Continental ContiTech, Ceco Building Systems and West Liberty Foods. Henry County Health Center, the Mount Pleasant Correctional Facility and Mount Pleasant Community School District are also larger employers for the city.

Education

Public schools

The public school system in Mount Pleasant is administered by the Mount Pleasant Community School District. The district oversees the high school, middle school and four elementary schools, Harlan, Lincoln, Salem, and Van Allen. The WisdomQuest Education Center serves as an alternative high school for the district.

Higher education

The city was home to

Iowa Wesleyan University Iowa Wesleyan University was a private university in Mount Pleasant, Iowa, United States. It was Iowa's first co-educational institution of higher learning and the oldest of its type west of the Mississippi River. The institution was affiliated ...

, which, founded in 1842, ranked as the oldest coeducational college/university west of the Mississippi River. The P.E.O. Sisterhood, an international philanthropic organization for women, was founded on the campus in Mount Pleasant by seven Iowa Wesleyan students.

Transportation

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

, the national passenger rail system, provides service to Mount Pleasant, operating its ''

California Zephyr The ''California Zephyr'' is a Amtrak Long Distance, long-distance passenger train operated by Amtrak between Chicago, Illinois, Chicago and the San Francisco Bay Area (at Emeryville station, Emeryville), via Omaha, Nebraska, Omaha, Denver, Sa ...

'' daily in both directions between

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, Illinois, and Emeryville, California, across the bay from

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

U.S. Route 34 U.S. Route 34 (US 34) is an east–west United States highway that runs for from north-central Colorado to the western suburbs of Chicago. Through Rocky Mountain National Park it is known as the Trail Ridge Road where it reaches an elevati ...

bypasses Mount Pleasant to the north, while U.S. Route 218/

Iowa Highway 27 O scale (or O gauge) is a scale commonly used for toy trains and rail transport modelling. Introduced by German toy manufacturer Märklin around 1900, by the 1930s three-rail alternating current O gauge was the most common model railroad sca ...

bypass the city to the east. These highways' former routes through the city are now designated as business routes. The Mount Pleasant Municipal Airport (FAA Identifier: MPZ) is at an elevation of 730 ft (222.5 m) and is located southeast of the city. The airport started operations in March 1945. it has 2 runways: Runway 15/33 is hard surfaced (asphalt) and is 4001 ft long × 75 ft wide (1220 m × 23 m) with runway edge lights; Runway 03/21 is turf and is 1965 ft long × 120 ft wide (599 m × 37 m) marked by yellow cones.

Notable people

* Eric Allender (born 1956) Computer Scientist * Warren Wallace Beckwith (1874–1955) - athlete, husband of

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...

's granddaughter * Belle Coddington (1842-1920), American Civil War nurse, teacher in Mount Pleasant * Susan F. Ferree (1844-1919), journalist, temperance worker, suffragist, and women's rights activist * James Harlan (1820–1899) – politician, president of

Mary Eunice Harlan Mary Harlan Lincoln ( Harlan; September 25, 1846 – March 31, 1937) was the daughter of United States Senator James Harlan and the wife of Robert Todd Lincoln. Life and family The eldest child of James Harlan and Ann Eliza Peck, Mary ...

(1846–1937) – daughter of James Harlan; wife of

Robert Todd Lincoln Robert Todd Lincoln (August 1, 1843 – July 26, 1926) was an American lawyer and businessman. The eldest son of President Abraham Lincoln and Mary Todd Lincoln, he was the only one of their four children to survive past the teenage years ...

Dana Holgorsen Dana Carl Holgorsen (born June 21, 1971) is an American college football coach. He is currently the offensive coordinator at the University of Nebraska. He served as the head football coach at West Virginia University from 2011 to 2018 and the Un ...

– head coach for the

University of Houston The University of Houston (; ) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas, United States. It was established in 1927 as Houston Junior College, a coeducational institution and one of multiple junior colleges formed in ...

football team *

Mike Leach (American football coach) Michael Charles Leach (March 9, 1961 – December 12, 2022) was an American college football coach who primarily coached at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, NCAA Division I FBS level. Nicknamed "the Pirate", he was a two-time nat ...

(1961-2022) - American football coach, popularized the

Air raid offense In American football, the air raid offense is an offensive scheme popularized by such coaches as Earnest Wilson, Hal Mumme, Mike Leach, Sonny Dykes, and Tony Franklin during their respective tenures at Iowa Wesleyan University, Valdosta Sta ...

under

Hal Mumme Hal Clay Mumme (born March 29, 1952) is a former American football player, and current offensive analyst for the Sullivan East H.S Patriots football program. He most recently served as an offensive advisor for the Dallas Renegades of the XFL (20 ...

as the offensive coordinator at

* Leigh S. J. Hunt (1855–1933) – Superintendent of Schools in the 1880s *

Rachelle Keck Rachelle L. Karstens Keck (born ) is an American lawyer and academic administrator serving as the fourteenth president of Grand View University since 2022. She was president of Briar Cliff University from 2018 to 2022. Life Keck was born in ...

– president of

Grand View University Grand View University is a private liberal arts university in Des Moines, Iowa. Founded in 1896 and affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the university enrolls approximately 2,000 students and is accredited by the Highe ...

and

Briar Cliff University Briar Cliff University is a private Franciscan university in Sioux City, Iowa. History In March 1929, Mother Mary Dominica Wieneke, Major Superior of the Sisters of Saint Francis of the Holy Family of Dubuque, Iowa, along with Edmond Heelan, ...

* Henry Krieger-Coble (born 1992) – NFL tight end * Jessie Wilson Manning (1855-?) - author, lecturer * Arabella Mansfield (1846–1911) – first female lawyer in the United States *

Harry F. Olson Dr Harry Ferdinand Olson, E.E., Ph.D. (December 28, 1901 – April 1, 1982) was a prominent engineer and inventor with RCA Victor, the Acoustic Research Director of RCA#Diversification, RCA Laboratories, Princeton, and a pioneer in the field of 20 ...

(1901-1982) - acoustical engineer at RCA Victor * Carolyn Pendray (1881–1958) - first woman elected to the

Iowa General Assembly The Iowa General Assembly is the legislative branch of the state government of Iowa. Like the federal United States Congress, the General Assembly is a bicameral body, composed of the upper house Iowa Senate and the lower Iowa House of Repre ...

Ricky Phillips Ricky Lynn Phillips (born October 7, 1952) is an American bass guitarist and was a member of the rock band Styx from 2003 to 2024, splitting duties with original bassist Chuck Panozzo. He has also played in Nasty Habit, as a member of the Babys ...

(born 1952) -

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

bassist A bassist (also known as a bass player or bass guitarist) is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass (upright bass, contrabass, wood bass), bass guitar (electric bass, acoustic bass), keyboard bass (synth bass) or a low br ...

with

Styx In Greek mythology, Styx (; ; lit. "Shuddering"), also called the River Styx, is a goddess and one of the rivers of the Greek Underworld. Her parents were the Titans Oceanus and Tethys, and she was the wife of the Titan Pallas and the moth ...

; formerly with

The Babys The Babys are a British Rock music, rock group best known for their songs "Isn't It Time (The Babys song), Isn't It Time" and "Every Time I Think of You". Both songs were composed by Jack Conrad and Raymond Louis Kennedy, Ray Kennedy, and ea ...

and

Bad English Bad English was an American/British hard rock supergroup formed in 1987. It reunited Journey keyboardist Jonathan Cain with singer John Waite and bassist Ricky Phillips, his former bandmates in the Babys, along with Journey guitarist Ne ...

* Ab Saunders (1851–1883) - Wild west cowboy and outlaw * Frederick A. Shannon (1921–1965) – herpetologist *

Newton J. Tharp Newton James Tharp (July 28, 1867 – May 12, 1909) was an American architect and painter. He was the City Architect, city architect for San Francisco. He was the namesake of the Newton J. Tharp Commercial School (1908–1952) on Grove Street in S ...

(1867–1909) – architect, painter * Fred Truck (born 1946) – painter, sculptor *

James Van Allen James Alfred Van Allen (September 7, 1914August 9, 2006) was an American space physicist at the University of Iowa. He was instrumental in establishing the field of magnetospheric research in space. The Van Allen radiation belts were named af ...

(1914–2006) – considered one of the country's foremost space scientists *

Christie Vilsack Ann Christine Bell Vilsack (; born July 9, 1950) is an American literacy advocate and politician. Vilsack is married to former List of governors of Iowa, Governor of Iowa and United States Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack. She served as the ...

(born 1950) – former first lady of

(born 1950) – former Mount Pleasant mayor, former

governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

, and US Secretary of Agriculture * Chris Voss – FBI hostage negotiator, author of Never Split the Difference *

Peggy Whitson Peggy Annette Whitson (born February 9, 1960) is an American biochemistry researcher, and astronaut working for Axiom Space. She retired from NASA in 2018, after serving as Chief Astronaut. Over all her missions, Whitson accumulated a total of ...

(born 1960) - retired

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

Chief Astronaut, holds the record for most cumulative days in space by an American, graduated from

in 1981

References

External links

*
Mount Pleasant Area Chamber Alliance
{{authority control Cities in Iowa Cities in Henry County, Iowa 1842 establishments in Iowa Territory