Mount Pleasant, Pennsylvania

History

Mount Pleasant borough is located at what was originally the junction of two Native American paths. With the coming of Europeans, those two paths—now known as Pennsylvania Routes 31 (east/west) and 819 (north/south)—became key access roads to the western wilderness and more populated areas in the east. The crossroads attracted settlers who established businesses to serve travelers passing through.

The year of Mount Pleasant's first non-Native American Indian resident is not known. The road pioneered by the Braddock expedition passed through the western end of the future town in 1755, opening the area to settlement. One source states that at the time of the American Revolutionary War, there was a settlement of "not more than a half dozen houses." In 1793 Michael Smith was licensed to operate an inn, which would have served traffic on Glades Road (sometimes spelled Glade Road), now Route 31. In 1797, Nathaniel Marshall sold land to Andrew McCready, who laid out the design of the town.

Jacob's Creek Bridge, the first iron-chain suspension bridge built in the United States, was erected south of the town in 1801. It was demolished in 1833.

From the History section of Mount Pleasant, Pennsylvania on Wikipedia, under CC BY-SA 4.0.