Mount Pleasant, IA

Since the founding of our communities, organizations, businesses and citizens have stepped forward to build and serve their community. Click on any of the logos below to learn about those who made this website possible! If you would like to learn about becoming a sponsor CLICK HERE!

The Henry County area was opened for settlement on June 1, 1833, and Mount Pleasant was developed not long after in 1835. It was the site of the area’s first hard surface road. Constructed of wooden planks to connect Mount Pleasant to Burlington, the roadway was eventually replaced by tracks for the Burlington and Missouri River Railroads in 1856.

Educational institutions have played an important role in Mount Pleasant’s history. In fact, Mount Pleasant was once known as the ‘Athens of Iowa’ because of the community’s strong focus on education. In addition to the public school system, three four-year colleges were in operation in Henry County: Whittier College at Salem, Iowa Wesleyan University, and the German College in Mount Pleasant.

Iowa Wesleyan University opened in 1842 and is the oldest co-educational, degree-granting institution in Iowa. It was there that seven Iowa Wesleyan co-eds formed a new philanthropic education organization – the International PEO Sisterhood in 1869.

Other women’s rights issues were activated in Mount Pleasant as well. The first Women’s Rights Convention in Iowa was held in Mount Pleasant in 1870, and in 1943, Iowa Wesleyan College organized the first women’s intercollegiate basketball team in the state.

In the community’s early years farming was the major industry in Henry County. While the community retains strong ties to its agricultural roots, past residents understood the importance of expanding the county’s employment base beyond the farm. After World War II the community began to aggressively recruit new industry to the area. This effort attracted several new businesses to Henry County and many of these continue to call Mount Pleasant home. These long-time community partners include such nationally known companies as Continental Contitech, CECO Buildings, Wal-Mart Distribution, Beck’s Superior Hybrids, and Hearth & Home Technologies, a division of HNI Corporation.