Mt. Pleasant, Michigan is located in Isabella County. It sits in the lower part of the state along the Chippewa River about 70 miles north of Lansing, the state capital.
Historian John Cumming says that logger David Ward purchased the land that would become Mt. Pleasant from the American government in 1855. He logged the land in 1860-61, then surveyed it into lots and named his new village Mount Pleasant. The Homestead Act of 1862 attracted many settlers to the area, and Mt. Pleasant grew quickly. The village was incorporated as the City of Mount Pleasant in 1889.
The first college in Mt. Pleasant was the Mt. Pleasant Business College, opened in 1890 by W.A. Jordan. According to Cumming, Mt. Pleasant attorney Samuel W. Hopkins wanted to start another college for the community. He opened the Central Michigan Normal School and Business Institute in 1892. It became a state college in 1895.
Oil was struck in several places in late 1928 and early 1929 in Isabella County. A refinery was built in Mt. Pleasant. The local oil industry allowed the local economy to flourish even through the Great Depression. Cumming says that Mt. Pleasant was the "oil capital of Michigan."
