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C+History
History · Mount Pleasant

Mount Pleasant dates to 1835

More historic than 41% of U.S. towns · #242 of 362 in Wisconsin. What drives it

Most of Mount Pleasant was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1983. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1892 on, and the census since 1980.

1835founded
0on the National Register
5%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Mount Pleasant’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Mount Pleasant began

When was Mount Pleasant founded?

1835

Mount Pleasant dates its founding to 1835 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1980.

First census: 19,340 in 19802020 census: 27,732191 years

How historic is Mount Pleasant?

C+

More historic than 41% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1837.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Mount Pleasant’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Mount Pleasant is more historic than 41% of U.S. towns, #242 of 362 in Wisconsin. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Mount Pleasant’s overall grade.
Founding era1835, from Wikidata: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 19405.1% of homes (±1.4) · typical WI town 12.1% · U.S. 8.4%CNational RegisterNo listings counted · typical WI town 3.0 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 41%
NewerOlder
Wisconsin towns of 2,500+ (362)Ahead of 33%

Wisconsin towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Wisconsin town has 3.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Mount Pleasant’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (28% of Wisconsin towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B−. The pre-1940 share (±1.4 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1835.

Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Mount Pleasant’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18924 editions of the USGS map, 1892 to 1971. Watch Mount Pleasant change.Deep rootsEstablished in 1835: 191 years of Mount Pleasant.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Mount Pleasant’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo2 archive items have no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewRapids School, 3516 Rapids Court: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Mount Pleasant on the map, 1892 to 1971

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

Mount Pleasant on the 1892 USGS mapMount Pleasant on the 1905 USGS mapMount Pleasant on the 1958 USGS mapMount Pleasant on the 1971 USGS map1892Racine 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 Mount Pleasant.

Timeline

Mount Pleasant, 1835 to 1892

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1835
    FoundingMount Pleasant is established
  3. 1837Post officeThe Mount Pleasant post office opens
  4. 1867Post officeThe Mount Pleasant post office closes
  5. 1892On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
The story

How Mount Pleasant came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Mount Pleasant.

Read it all →

The community was established as the Town of Mount Pleasant in 1842 when a small group of residents met to organize the settlement. In 1972, Mount Pleasant adopted its zoning ordinance, which established significant locally controlled development. On September 16, 2003, Mount Pleasant incorporated as a village following a referendum passed by the residents.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Mount Pleasant, decade by decade

Date unknown2 to date
Rapids School, 3516 Rapids CourtDate?Rapids School, 3516 Rapids CourtConrad Fox, Jr. House, 3500 Rapids CourtDate?Conrad Fox, Jr. House, 3500 Rapids Court
Today9 recent
West end of WIS 1952025West end of WIS 195South end of WIS 3112025South end of WIS 311Foxconn Data Center2023Foxconn Data CenterPaul Ryan tours Badger Meter in2018Paul Ryan tours Badger Meter inMount Pleasant Village Hall2013Mount Pleasant Village Hall2011 Skeleton Skamper20112011 Skeleton SkamperMount Pleasant WI History Diagram2010Mount Pleasant WI History DiagramMount Pleasant WI Aerial Image 20092009Mount Pleasant WI Aerial Image 2009WIMap-doton-Mount Pleasant b2004WIMap-doton-Mount Pleasant b
Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Rapids School, 3516 Rapids Court
Retake this viewRapids School, 3516 Rapids Court

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Mount Pleasant’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Mount Pleasant, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,00030,000198020002020Peak: 27,732

Between 19,340 and 27,732 people in every census since 1980.

5 censuses, 1980–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Mount Pleasant

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

See all →
Orson WellesAmerican actor and filmmaker · b. 1915
Gary ColemanAmerican actor · b. 1968
Fredric MarchAmerican actor · b. 1897
Don AmecheAmerican actor · b. 1908
Ellen CorbyAmerican actress · b. 1911
J
Jesse MarschAmerican soccer coach · b. 1973
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Mount Pleasant had its own post office from 1837 to 1867.

Mount Pleasant
1837–1867
18301930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Jensen's Mobile Home VillageWaxdale
1cemetery inside Mount Pleasant
West Lawn Memorial

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Racine44 historic placesA+Yorkville1 historic placeB+Caledonia1 historic placeC+SomersIts storyCElmwood ParkIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Mount Pleasant’s history

What year was Mount Pleasant founded?

In 1835, according to Wikidata. Mount Pleasant’s post office opened in 1837, and the census of 1980 counted 19,340 people here.

How does Mount Pleasant rank for history?

Mount Pleasant is more historic than 41% of U.S. towns, #242 of 362 in Wisconsin. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

How old are the homes in Mount Pleasant?

5% of Mount Pleasant’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.4 points), against a typical 12% for a Wisconsin town; the median home was built in 1983.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (9), the Library of Congress (2), 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.