08/28/2026
A BIG DISTINCTION FOR A SMALL OHIO VILLAGE
Twenty-one years ago, Mount Pleasant had something pretty remarkable to celebrate.
In April 2005, the Mount Pleasant Historic District was designated a National Historic Landmark District by the U.S. Secretary of the Interior—recognition of Mount Pleasant’s national significance in the history of the Underground Railroad and the antislavery movement.
The December 2005 issue of the Historical Society’s The Town Crier newsletter looked back at that year’s special Landmark Celebration Tour and explained just what this new designation meant.
We thought we’d pull the old newsletter from the files and share what our Historical Society members were writing at the time:
From the December 2005 The Town Crier:
“Mt. Pleasant Hosts Landmark Celebration Tour”
This year's tour was a special Landmark Home Tour because the village has recently received a new historic designation. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1974, the village has been designated a National Historic LANDMARK DISTRICT for its national role in the Underground Railroad and anti-slavery movement. In the proclamation from the United States Department of the Interior, the village was found "to possess national significance in the history of the United States.
The Secretary of the Interior designated this district a National Historic Landmark on April 5, 2005. Landmark designation recognizes and encourages the preservation of places that have exceptional value for commemorating or illustrating the history of the United States."
This is the highest historical designation possible and it comprises the historic core of this small rural Ohio village. Most of Mount Pleasant's development occurred prior to the Civil War, after which time the village was bypassed by the expanding railroad network. This twist of fate resulted in the survival of a significant concentration of pre-Civil War architecture in the historic district including Federal, Greek Revival, Italianate, and Queen Anne homes. The National Park Service will be working with the Ohio's Historic Preservation Office and the Historical Society of Mount Pleasant to produce a bronze plaque commemorating this distinction.
A highlight for the tour on Saturday was a visit from Cathy Nelson, State Coordinator of the Ohio Underground Railroad Association. This association is a research branch of the Friends of Freedom Society, of which she is the founder. She will have copies of Freedom Seekers, Ohio and the Underground Railroad available for purchase in the Burris Store. This publication features documented Underground Railroad stations and their stories, including Mount Pleasant and the Salt Fork Region.
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Twenty-one years later, the responsibility that comes with that recognition continues: preserving the buildings, collections and stories that earned this little village a place in our nation’s history.
📚From the Historical Society of Mount Pleasant’s Story Cabinet
