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.

[2] The town of Mount Pleasant was established in 1803 by Robert Carothers, an Irishman from Virginia, and Jesse Thomas, a Quaker from North Carolina.

The town was founded in part out of anti-slavery sentiment by North Carolina Quakers who specifically sought a place where their slaves could be freed.

Prominent non-residential buildings include the Friends Meetinghouse built by the Quakers in 1814 to house the first yearly meeting established west of the Allegheny Mountains.

From an early date, the strong Quaker population in Mount Pleasant preached and practiced its abolitionist views and published antislavery literature, such as Benjamin Lundy's "Genius of Universal Emancipation."