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History · Pleasant Hill

Pleasant Hill dates to 1819, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

Most of Pleasant Hill was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1985. Its Register listing is the Pioneer Hall. Below: maps from 1912 on and the census since 1910.

1819founded
1on the National Register
8%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Pleasant Hill began

When was Pleasant Hill founded?

1819

Pleasant Hill dates its founding to 1819 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1910.

First census: 227 in 19102020 census: 540207 years
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1858.The full story ↓

What stands out about Pleasant Hill’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Pleasant Hill are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost a third of its people between 1910 and 1920, then grew 3-fold.On the map since 19123 editions of the USGS map, 1912 to 1976. Watch Pleasant Hill change.Deep rootsEstablished in 1819: 207 years of Pleasant Hill.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Pleasant Hill’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Pleasant Hill’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Pleasant Hill, census by census

0100200300400500600192019401960198020002020227 in 1910Low: 148

Lost a third of its people between 1910 and 1920, then grew 3-fold.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Pleasant Hill’s Wikipedia page.

On the map

Pleasant Hill on the map, 1912 to 1976

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Pleasant Hill. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Pleasant Hill on the 1912 USGS mapPleasant Hill on the 1956 USGS mapPleasant Hill on the 1976 USGS map1912Crossville sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Pleasant Hill.

The story

How Pleasant Hill came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Pleasant Hill.

Read it all →

Pleasant Hill was first settled by European Americans before 1819. In 1884 a teacher from the American Missionary Association (AMA) established the Pleasant Hill Academy to provide broad liberal arts education for rural youth, while also giving vocational training in agriculture and local skills. Supported by the Congregational Church, the school operated until 1947. Its main building, Pioneer Hall, is still standing.

May Cravath Wharton, an early woman physician from Minnesota, established a medical clinic at the academy, where her husband was the director. Wharton also cared for people in the community. They invited her to stay after the death of her husband Edwin.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Pleasant Hill, 1819 to 2010

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1819
    FoundingPleasant Hill is established
  3. 1858Post officeThe Pleasant Hill post office opens
  4. 1889BuiltPioneer Hall is built
  5. 20th century
  6. 1912On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 21st century
  8. 2010CensusPopulation peaks at 563
By decade

Pleasant Hill, decade by decade

Today4 recent
Pleasant-Hill-water-tower-tn12015Pleasant-Hill-water-tower-tn1Pleasant-Hill-town-hall-tn12015Pleasant-Hill-town-hall-tn1Pleasant-Hill-shop-tn12015Pleasant-Hill-shop-tn1Pioneer-hall-museum-tn12010Pioneer-hall-museum-tn1
On the National Register

1 historic place in Pleasant Hill

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1978
Pioneer Hall
Pioneer Hall, built 1889
Buildings
Pioneer HallBuilt 1889

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Famous people

Famous people close to Pleasant Hill

Nobody well known was born in Pleasant Hill itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
JJ RedickAmerican basketball player and coach · b. 1984
Julie Ann EmeryAmerican actress · b. 1975
Roger K. CrouchAmerican astronaut · b. 1940
Marjorie WeaverAmerican actress · b. 1913
James B. FrazierAmerican politician · b. 1856
M
Michael TurnerAmerican comic book artist · b. 1971
Places that used to be

Old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Pleasant Hill’s post office has been open since 1858.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Hickory HillsThe Meadows
Gone or out of use
Pleasant Hill AcademyschoolPleasant Hill High SchoolschoolUplands General Hospitalhospital
1cemetery inside Pleasant Hill
Pleasant Hill

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about Pleasant Hill’s history

What year was Pleasant Hill founded?

In 1819, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Pleasant Hill’s post office opened in 1858, and the census of 1910 counted 227 people here.

What is on the National Register in Pleasant Hill?

One place: the Pioneer Hall (listed 1978).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (4), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.