Presented herein is a transcribed copy of the Minutes of the Town Board of the Town of Mt. Pleasant, NC dating from 21 May 1883 through 4 May 1909. The original minutes are recorded in a ledger book in the archives of the Eastern Cabarrus Historical Society in Mt. Pleasant. The Mt. Pleasant Town Minutes from 1859 thru 1882 and from 1909 thru 1928 were lost in a fire in 1928 that destroyed Cook & Foil Hardware and A. W. Moose Drug Store. The 1883 – 1909 Minutes were apparently being kept at a separate location at the time of the fire and eventually came into the possession of the late Rev. Michael C. D. McDaniel, the great-grandson of H. C. McAllister (who appears in this narrative). Rev. McDaniel donated the Minutes ledger to the Eastern Cabarrus Historical Society in the 1980’s.
In transcribing these records, the writer has attempted to retain as much of the original spelling, punctuation and grammar as possible, however, in some cases it has been necessary to make some editorial corrections for the sake of clarity. The spelling of names in the transcribed record has been retained as written even though the same names may be spelled differently in various parts of the record and they may differ from the currently “accepted” spelling of the name. This reflects the fact that many names were spelled phonetically or in a shorthand form.
The narrative begins with the original act to incorporate the Town of Mt. Pleasant in 1859, which is followed by an amendment of the Town Charter in 1883. Following the amended Charter are the initial Town Ordinances adopted in 1883. A section following the Minutes lists the elected officials of Mt. Pleasant from 1883 – 1960.
Accompanying the transcribed minutes is an annotation which includes brief historical and genealogical sketches of the persons and places mentioned in the minutes. Images and other photos will be added in the future.
“Historical Mt. Pleasant” is a section based on a “map” of Mt. Pleasant created by the late Billie McAllister for display at the Eastern Cabarrus Historical Society in the 1980’s. The map featured homes and businesses that were considered of historical significance with most being ninety to more than one hundred years old. Since the creation of this “map” several of the structures have been demolished or significantly remodeled (one was moved to another location in town). This author has made several additions to the original list and plans to include more as research continues..
A section entitled “Mt Pleasant Deeds” contains transcribed deeds of land transactions that involved property now within the MP Town limits. A following section, “Miscellaneous,” contains various records including Mt. Pleasant Post Masters to 1960, a list of the contributors to the construction of McAllister School and property owners along Main & Franklin Streets at the time these streets were first paved.
This narrative should by no means be considered a complete history of Mt. Pleasant. Several persons much more qualified to write about the Town than myself have produced excellent accounts of early Mt. Pleasant. This writer based much of his research upon earlier books and articles written by R. Brown McAllister, George F. Hahn, Billie McAllister, and Rev. Mickey McDaniel. All of these persons had roots in the community extending much deeper than the writer’s 76 years, and it was, in fact, their ancestors who were some of the persons most responsible for the founding of the Town. Anyone truly interested in the history of Mt. Pleasant must also read and become familiar with the accounts produced by these writers and other local history experts.
The writer is also deeply indebted to several members of the Eastern Cabarrus Historical Society who share his interest in the history of Mt. Pleasant and in preserving this history for future generations. It was through the assistance of Alissa Wycliff, Vickie Cline, Martha Kirk, Frankie Foil, and Billie McAllister, that I was first given access to the original Town Minutes. In fact, the entire membership of the ECHS, past and present, deserves a strong endorsement for their dedication to preserving the heritage of Mt. Pleasant and the surrounding community.
[5th Edition Notes] This 5th edition contains corrections and updates to previous editions as well as additional information which has been obtained by the writer over the past 25 years. The descriptions in the annotations have been greatly expanded and provide much more detailed information.