Mount Pleasant is the county seat of and largest city in Titus County, in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

. As of the 2020 census, Mount Pleasant's population was 16,047; it is situated in

Northeast Texas Northeast Texas is a cultural and geographic region in the northeast corner of the U.S. state of Texas. Geographically centered on two metropolitan areas strung along Interstate 20— Tyler in the west and Kilgore, Longview, Marshall to the eas ...

History

Mount Pleasant was founded May 11, 1848, to serve as county seat for Titus County, which was created by a legislative act on May 11, 1846. Until after the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

, Titus County also included the territory of present-day Franklin and Morris Counties. High waters along the creeks and the

Sulphur River The Sulphur River is a river in northeast Texas and southwest Arkansas in the United States. It is a tributary of the Red River. Geography The Sulphur River begins at the confluence of its north and south forks forming (following earlier mean ...

often halted travel in the early years. In the 21st century, Titus County comprises the Mount Pleasant micropolitan statistical area, named for the county seat.

Geography

Mount Pleasant is located at (33.157891, −94.970084). 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 12.7 square miles (33.0 km), of which 125 square miles (32.5 km) are land and is covered by water.

Climate

Mount Pleasant is considered to have a

humid subtropical A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between la ...

climate.

Demographics

As of the 2020 United States census, 16,047 people, 5,553 households, and 3,896 families were residing in the city. 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 2000, 139350 people, 4,558 households, and 3,208 families resided in the city. The population density was . The racial makeup of the city was 56.70% White, 16.00% African American, 0.55% Native American, 0.84% Asian, 23.58% from other races, and 2.33% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 40.65% of the population. In the city, the age distribution was 31.2% under 18, 10.9% from 18 to 24, 28.1% from 25 to 44, 16.2% from 45 to 64, and 13.6% who were 65 or older. The median age was 20 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.8 males. For every 100 females 18 and over, there were 89.6 males. The median income for a household in the city was $28,805, and for a family was $32,331. Males had a median income of $22,629 versus $17,080 for females. The per capita income for the city was $14,190. About 20.3% of families and 22.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 30.7% of those under age 18 and 16.1% of those age 65 or over. Mount Pleasant has grown since the 2000 Census; as of 2010, Mount Pleasant had a population of 15,564.

Arts and culture

* Titus County Courthouse—located at the Downtown Square, the courthouse is an important historical building. The courthouse has burned down three times since 1850. The current building was constructed in 1895 after a devastating fire in which the county records were destroyed. The courthouse was remodeled in 1940, 1962, and restored to its 1940 appearance in 1991. * Downtown Square is bordered by several locally owned businesses. * Mount Pleasant is the site of

Wal-Mart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores in the United States and 23 other ...

's first store in Texas. * Radar (2006–2008), the world's tallest living horse, lived in Mount Pleasant. (In 2005, Goliath was recorded as the world's tallest living horse by ''Guinness Book of World Records''). * Mount Pleasant is a nationally recognized Texas Main Street City under the program of the

National Trust for Historic Preservation The National Trust for Historic Preservation is a privately funded, nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., that works in the field of historic preservation in the United States. The member-supported organization was founded in 1949 ...

. * One of the largest

Dr. Pepper Dr Pepper is a carbonated soft drink. Dr Pepper was created in the 1880s by the American pharmacist Charles Alderton in Waco, Texas, and was first nationally marketed in the United States in 1904. It is manufactured by Keurig Dr Pepper in th ...

murals A mural is any piece of graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' is a Spanish ...

in the United States is located on the side of a building that once housed the Masonic lodge upstairs, and a grocery store downstairs.

Education

The majority of the City of Mount Pleasant is served by the

Mount Pleasant Independent School District Mount Pleasant Independent School District is a public school district based in Mount Pleasant, Texas (USA). It serves the majority of Mount Pleasant, Winfield, and Millers Cove. In addition to students in the Mount Pleasant area, the distri ...

. The southeastern portion is served by the Chapel Hill Independent School District. A smaller portion is served by the Harts Bluff Independent School District. * Mount Pleasant High School is a 5A school. The mascot is the Tiger. *Chapel Hill High School is a 3A school. The mascot is the Red Devil. *Harts Bluff Early College High School is a 2A school. The mascot is the Bulldog.

Northeast Texas Community College Northeast Texas Community College (NTCC) is a public community college near Mount Pleasant, Texas. History In January 1984, the voters of Camp, Morris, and Titus counties approved a community college district for the area. The campus (centrally ...

is also located in Mount Pleasant, near the Chapel Hill school district.

Media

The ''

Mount Pleasant Tribune ''Mount Pleasant Tribune'' (formerly ''Mount Pleasant Daily Tribune'') is a weekly newspaper based in Mount Pleasant, Texas, United States. It is owned by Moser Community Media. History The paper traces its roots back to a paper called ''The Pa ...

'' is a twice-a-week

newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as poli ...

which was founded in 1941.

Infrastructure

Transportation

A major project underway to build a 271 loop bypass around Mount Pleasant was completed in 2015. The Mount Pleasant Regional Airport is located three miles from the city.

Healthcare

The City of Mount Pleasant is served by Titus Regional Medical Center.

Postal service

The

United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or simply the Postal Service, is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the executive branch of the federal governmen ...

operates the Mount Pleasant Post Office.

Parole office

The

Texas Department of Criminal Justice The Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) is a department of the government of the U.S. state of Texas. The TDCJ is responsible for statewide criminal justice for adult offenders, including managing offenders in state prisons, state jails ...

(TDCJ) operates the Mount Pleasant District Parole Office in Mount Pleasant.Parole Division Region I
."

. Retrieved on May 15, 2010.

Notable people

Melvin Aldridge Melvin Keith Aldridge (born July 22, 1970) is a former gridiron football linebacker and defensive back who played in the National Football League, the Canadian Football League, and the World League of American Football. He played college footbal ...

, former professional football player * Krista Branch, singer of the song "I Am America," referred to as the anthem of the

Tea Party movement The Tea Party movement was an American fiscally conservative political movement within the Republican Party that began in 2007, catapulted into the mainstream by Congressman Ron Paul's presidential campaign. The movement expanded in resp ...

* Maury Buford, punter for 1985 Chicago Bears Super Bowl team *

Norm Duke Norm Duke (born March 25, 1964) is an American professional bowler who previously competed on the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) Tour and now competes on the PBA50 Tour. He has won 40 titles on the PBA Tour, including seven major champi ...

, PBA bowler * Michael Kopech, professional baseball pitcher * Barry Minter, former

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL) linebacker for the Chicago Bears and Cleveland Browns, appeared in 16 games for Cleveland in 2001 before retiring to Mount Pleasant *

Ray Price Noble Ray Price (January 12, 1926 – December 16, 2013) was an American country music singer, songwriter, and guitarist. His wide-ranging baritone is regarded as among the best male voices of country music, and his innovations, such as prope ...

, country music singer *

Bill Ratliff William Roark Ratliff (born August 16, 1936) is an American politician and engineer who served as a member of the Texas Senate from 1988 to 2004.

, politician * Jason Roy, lead singer of the

Dove Award A Dove Award is an accolade by the Gospel Music Association (GMA) of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the Christian music industry. The awards ceremonies presented annually and have been held in Nashville, Tennessee exce ...

-winning Christian rock band

Building 429 Building 429 is an American Christian rock band from Fayetteville, North Carolina. The band's name refers to Ephesians 4:29, a Biblical passage that (in the New International Version of the Bible) reads: "Do not let any unwholesome talk come ou ...

Sam W. Russell Sam W. Russell (August 31, 1945 – May 14, 2014) was an American lawyer and politician. Born in Mount Pleasant, Texas, to George Traylor Russell and Arlene Wilson Russell, he received his bachelor's degree from East Texas State University a ...

, Texas legislator and lawyer *

Jerry Scoggins Jerry Scoggins (September 30, 1911 – December 7, 2004) was an American country/western singer, guitarist, and band leader. He performed on radio, in movies, and on television from the 1930s thru the 1980s. He was noted for his work with Gene ...

, American country/western singer, guitarist, and band leader, most noted for singing "

The Ballad of Jed Clampett "The Ballad of Jed Clampett" is the theme song for the television series ''The Beverly Hillbillies'' and the later movie of that name, providing the introductory story for the series. The song was composed by Paul Henning, and recorded first by ...

", the theme song of the 1960s sitcom ''

The Beverly Hillbillies ''The Beverly Hillbillies'' is an American television sitcom that was broadcast on CBS from 1962 to 1971. It had an ensemble cast featuring Buddy Ebsen, Irene Ryan, Donna Douglas, and Max Baer Jr. as the Clampetts, a poor backwoods family ...

'' * Chaun Thompson, former NFL linebacker for the Houston Texans

References

External links

City of Mount PleasantMount Pleasant Daily Tribune
{{authority control Cities in Texas Cities in Titus County, Texas County seats in Texas Micropolitan areas of Texas