What helped the town get off it's feet was the road from Clarksville to Jefferson. Goods would go from Clarksville to Jefferson where they would be loaded onto ships and taken to other locations and vice versa. This road ran through Mt. Pleasant and was created by Andrew Titus, for whom the county is named.
During the Civil War, Mt. Pleasant was the site of a transportation depot that employed blacksmiths, wheelwrights and carpenters whose job it was to build wagons, fit them with oxen so they could bring supplies to the front.
The Titus County Courthouse has burned three times since the first one erected in 1850. The current courthouse was built in 1895.
That same building was remodeled in 1940.
That same building was remodeled again in 1962 - Yikes! That looks like a bunker where you'd go to avoid a nuclear blast. Luckily, it was remodeled again in 1995 back to what it looked like in 1940. Too bad they didn't go back to their original design. That had much more character.
Here's what the courthouse looks like today. When we pulled into the town square, country music was blaring from speakers in the courthouse. I'm not sure why we were all subjected to that but there you go.
By 1885, they had a bank, three churches, a steam flour mill and several cotton gins. The Great Depression did a number on this town as it did on the rest of the country. The number of businesses declined as did the population.
Meanwhile, in 1902, Titus county was voted dry. That didn't stop anyone from getting a "nip" or a "toddy". Between 1908 and 1915, the town was known as a resort due to the red mineral springs that were nearby. There weren't any healing powers there but that's how they were advertised.
On this side of the square the red brick building that has two-stories is the FW Fitzpatrick building erected in 1900. At one point it was occupied by the Mission Church. I wish I knew what was the original business was. I tried google the name but all that came up were images of the building.
The red building to the left was F.W. Stephenson Furniture, which was still advertising in the paper as late as 1951. In 1989, Laura's Cheescake and Cafe opened in that spot and is still there.
On another side of the square is Hamilton's Jewelers. This is the oldest business in Mt. Pleasant. It was started in 1885 in Franklin County. The Hamilton family moved their business here in 1904 and it's been in this location ever since and is still family owned.
On the side of this building (it's the same group of buildings as the Fitzpatrick building shown above) is this lovely welcome painting.
This is the old Borden Milk Plant. When was this business established and what happened? Inquiring minds want to know!
This bell tower now stands where a hospital turned hotel once stood. The hospital was called a "sanitarium" and you could get very good medical care here. It was purchased by John B. Stephens, a oilman that used the building as a headquarters for his team. He renovated the hospital and turned it into a hotel. It closed in 1987 when Stephens died. It sat empty for a while until someone burned the building down. That seems to happen to a lot of old buildings. What's with these arsonists? The county bought the property and turned it into a parking lot. They added a bell tower as well for decoration maybe? It looks nice.
The worlds largest Dr. Pepper mural. This building was once a grocery story on the first floor and a masonic lodge on the second.
Mount Pleasant has the distinct pleasure of hosting the first Wal-mart in Texas. It's also famous for the Edison Phonograph Museum which has recordings of several famous people. Sadly, the museum has permanently closed.
There is also the Mid-America Flight Museum. It's only open on Saturdays from 8 - 12. I'm not sure how they'll have many people going when they're only open for a short window.
Mount Pleasant also has the distinction of being the retail mecca for the surrounding counties, like Franklin Co. There is a Wal-Mart here, more modern that the original. They have most of the fast food chains as well as a Chili's and an Applebee's. Pilgrim's Pride has a processing plant here. They have lots of lakes and parks.
Of the three small towns that we've visited thus far, this one was the most bustling. While there were several vacant buildings, the square had a bit of custom. It didn't have that "dying" vibe that the other towns had.
With about 16,000 people and a median income of about $28K, it doesn't seem like a bad place to live...except for that country music blaring in the town square.
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