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History in
a Pecan Shell
Mount Pleasant
was designated the county seat when Titus
County was formed in 1846. The site for the town was donated by
early settlers with a post office opening the following year.
It wasn’t until the arrival of the Texas and St. Louis Railroad in
the early 1880s that the town experience notable growth. By the mid
1880s the town had a population around 800 with most essential businesses
as well as a newspaper and a bank.
Mineral-rich springs created an influx of health-seeking tourists
in the 1910s and by the 1920s, Mount Pleasant had 4,000 residents.
The Great Depression reduced the population to 3,500 but it dealt
business a harder blow, reducing the number to just 121 from a pre-Depression
high of 190.
Mount Pleasant also served as an economic center for neighboring counties
of Morris, Franklin
and Camp.
The population went over 11,000 in the 1970 Census and was nearly
12,300 for the 1990 Census.
The city is also the home of Northeast Community College (which serves
the aforementioned three neighboring counties). The population was
16,152 as of 2010. |
The
Bell Tower
by Bob Bowman ("All Things Historical")
"... The bell will soon ring again across Mount Pleasant’s courthouse
square.
To build a new, freestanding bell tower and an electronic operating
system to ring the bell, the Commission and others are putting together
a $60,000 pot. County officials are putting up 42% of the cost, the
City of Mount Pleasant is paying 20%, and the remaining funds are
coming largely from engraved bricks...." [ more
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Dr Pepper
Hand-Painted Brick Advertisement
Restored in 2011
"It is said
to be the largest hand-painted Dr Pepper brick advertisement in Texas
and one of the largest in America." - David Freeman |
Jo's Downtown hand-painted Dr Pepper brick advertisement
Photo courtesy David Freeman, December 2015 |
"We wanted
to share this updated picture of the Dr Pepper advertisement located
on the oldest building on the downtown square of Mount Pleasant, Texas.
The billboard was restored in 2011 with an additional scene on the
far right side." - David Freeman, January 23, 2017 |
Photo courtesy David Freeman, December 2015 |
Girl holding Dr Pepper bottle
before restoration
Photo courtesy David Freeman, September 2011 |
Weathered sign
Photo courtesy David Freeman, January 2007 |
The sign before
the wall became faded and extremely weathered.
Photo
courtesy Barclay
Gibson, October 2002 |
Photo
courtsey Joyce Cook, April 2018 |
Mount Pleasant
Nearby Destinations
Lake Bob
Sandlin State Park
http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us
Lake Monticello
10 miles southwest of Mount Pleasant
http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us
Lake Welsh
On Swuanano Creek, 10 miles southeast of Mount Pleasant
http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us
Mount Pleasant
Tourist Information
Mount Pleasant/Titus
County Chamber Of Commerce
1604 N. Jefferson P.O. Box 1237 Mount Pleasant, TX 75456-1237
Phone: 903/572-8567
http://www.mtpleasant-tx.com/
Mount
Pleasant Hotels > Book Hotel Here
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Texas
Escapes, in its purpose to preserve historic, endangered and vanishing
Texas, asks that anyone wishing to share their local history
and vintage/historic photos, please contact
us. |
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