Mount Pleasant is a

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred ...

in southern Jefferson County,

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

, United States. The population was 394 at the 2020 census. It is part of the

Weirton–Steubenville metropolitan area The Weirton–Steubenville, WV–OH Metropolitan Statistical Area, also known as the Upper Ohio Valley, is a metropolitan statistical area consisting of two counties in the Northern Panhandle of West Virginia and one in Ohio, anchored by the citie ...

. Founded in 1803 by anti-slavery Quakers, the village was an early center of abolitionist activity and a well-known haven for fugitive slaves on the

Underground Railroad The Underground Railroad was a network of clandestine routes and safe houses established in the United States during the early- to mid-19th century. It was used by enslaved African Americans primarily to escape into free states and Canada. ...

History

Mount Pleasant was laid out in 1803. It was named from its scenic landscape. An early variant name was Jesse-Bobtown. In 1817, Quaker Charles Osborn established ''The Philanthropist'', the first newspaper in the country advocating the

abolition of slavery Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The British ...

, in Mount Pleasant. The abolitionist James Birney would later adopt the name '' The Philanthropist'' for his anti-slavery newspaper, published in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

and distributed in New Richmond, Ohio beginning in 1836. In 1821, the Quaker abolitionist

Benjamin Lundy Benjamin Lundy (January 4, 1789August 22, 1839) was an American Quaker abolitionist from New Jersey of the United States who established several anti-slavery newspapers and traveled widely. He lectured and published seeking to limit slavery's expa ...

started publishing ''

The Genius of Universal Emancipation The ''Genius of Universal Emancipation'' was an abolitionist newspaper founded by Benjamin Lundy in 1821, in Mount Pleasant, Ohio. History The newspaper was originally Elihu Embree's '' The Emancipator'' in 1820, before Lundy purchased it th ...

'', another abolitionist newspaper, also in Mount Pleasant. The paper eventually moved to

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

. Lundy's house is a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

. Most of the village has been designated a historic district, the Mount Pleasant Historic District; it too is a National Historic Landmark.

Geography

Mount Pleasant is located at (40.175602, −80.799686). According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of t ...

, the village has a total area of , all land.

Demographics

2010 census

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...

of 2010, there were 478 people, 192 households, and 143 families living in the village. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical ...

was . There were 226 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 97.7%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...

, 0.8%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.4% Native American, 0.6%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, and 0.4% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race were 0.2% of the population. There were 192 households, of which 32.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.9% were married couples living together, 10.9% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.6% had a male householder with no wife present, and 25.5% were non-families. 22.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.49 and the average family size was 2.89. The median age in the village was 44.5 years. 20.9% of residents were under the age of 18; 6.7% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 23.2% were from 25 to 44; 32.2% were from 45 to 64; and 16.9% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the village was 48.3% male and 51.7% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 535 people, 201 households, and 158 families living in the village. The

was 2,136.6 people per square mile (826.3/km²). There were 222 housing units at an average density of 886.6 per square mile (342.9/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 97.57%

, 1.31%

, 0.37%

, and 0.75% from two or more races.

of any race were 0.19% of the population. There were 201 households, out of which 34.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 64.2% were married couples living together, 11.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 20.9% were non-families. 19.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.66 and the average family size was 3.03. In the village, the population was spread out, with 24.9% under the age of 18, 7.3% from 18 to 24, 26.4% from 25 to 44, 23.4% from 45 to 64, and 18.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 96.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.7 males. The median income for a household in the village was $43,750, and the median income for a family was $46,591. Males had a median income of $39,821 versus $19,688 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the village was $15,647. About 7.7% of families and 9.3% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, including 12.9% of those under age 18 and 5.0% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Public education in the village of Mount Pleasant is provided by the Buckeye Local School District.

Notable people

* William Lawrence, Republican politician *

, abolitionist * Stephen Mason Merrill,

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...

clergyman *

Stephen Dee Richards Stephen D. Richards or Samuel D. Richards (March 18, 1856April 26, 1879), also known in the media as The Nebraska Fiend, Kearney County Murderer, and The Ohio Monster, was an American serial killer who confessed to committing nine murders in Nebra ...

Old West The American frontier, also known as the Old West or the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of American expansion in mainland North America that began with European colonial ...

serial killer *

Benjamin Stanton Benjamin Stanton (June 4, 1809 – June 2, 1872) was an American politician who served as the sixth lieutenant governor of Ohio from 1862 to 1864. Early life The son of Elias & Martha (Wilson) Stanton, he was born in Mount Pleasant, Ohio, Stanton ...

, sixth lieutenant governor of Ohio * Jonathan T. Updegraff, physician and politician, served as a U.S. representative from Ohio from 1879 to 1882 *

Moses Fleetwood Walker Moses Fleetwood Walker (October 7, 1856 – May 11, 1924) was an American professional baseball catcher who, historically, was credited with being the first black man to play in Major League Baseball (MLB). A native of Mount Pleasant, Ohio, an ...

, first African-American professional baseball player

References

{{Authority control Villages in Jefferson County, Ohio Villages in Ohio Populated places established in 1803 1803 establishments in Ohio