14 April.pdf 2014 Pleasant Hill Chamber Directory | Page 6

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2014 PLEASANT HILL CHAMBER OF COMMERCE DIRECTORY

History

Mural located inside the Post Office, painted by Tom Lea in 1939, depicted a Confederate family’s return after Order

I

History of Pleasant Hill

n the spring of 1828, David
Creed settled on Section 6, Township 46, Range 30 to become the
first recorded non-native settler in Cass
County. This location is just northwest of
the Pleasant Hill Cemetery. By 1833, a
Frenchman names Blois opened a store
about three miles east of the present Pleasant Hill Cemetery, but soon moved his
business close to where the Cemetery is
today. Blois sold his business to William H.
Duncan and Walter H. Taylor in 1834 who
in turn sold it to William Ferrell in 1835.
Not long after, Harellson and W.W. Wright
bought the business from Ferrel. It was not
long before Harrellson sold his part of the
business to Wright and Wright became the
sole proprietor.
On October 8, 1844, W.W. Wright and
his wife Malinda platted the "original town
of Pleasant Hill." It consisted of twelve
blocks lying parallel to its "Main Street"
(which is now Highway Seven) and angled
northwest following the crest of the ridge.
Wright's Store stood on the highest ground
which is now marked by a monument in
the Pleasant Hill Cemetery. W.W. Wright
died in 1846 and a year later, Malinda
Wright added 12 more blocks to the original plat. These two plats are what is now
known as "Old Town" Pleasant Hill. The

three story brick tavern erected by the
Wright’s was a popular stop for travelers
and is said to have had a 12-foot octagon
shaped pole that stood in front of the inn's
long, wooden veranda and held a lamp "as
big as a heating stove." The lamp was
known to weary travelers as "The Beacon"
and every night a dozen or more candles
were lit inside its glass chimney. The inn
was the center of the community until after
the Civil War. Later it was a private home
until it burned in 1909.
The town of Pleasant Hill thrived until
the Civil War began. But border warfare

and the infamous "Order Number 11" almost depopulated the town. It is said that
by the end of the Civil War, the population
of Cass County was fewer than 600 people—a direct result of Order Number 11.
But when the Pacific Railroad completed
its line from St. Louis to Pleasant Hill, a
"New Town" was born. It was located almost two miles from the original site of
Pleasant Hill which became known as "Old
Town." The original plan was to have the
line of the Pacific Rail Road diverged from
the main line about 2 miles East of Pleasant
Hill (Old Q