Mount Pleasant Area Historical Society

04/20/2026

If you're looking for something to do Friday evening, stop down at the Somerset Trust Historic Train Station. Our very own Gene Kowalewski will be giving a lecture on our region’s coal and coke history, along with a display of many fascinating artifacts. It’s sure to be a great time.

04/09/2026

03/26/2026

George Washington Newmyer was born in Pennsville, PA on November 11, 1822. He moved to Mount Pleasant prior to 1860 where he engaged in the mercantile business and would later be elected Justice of the Peace of the borough. On June 28, 1861, the thirty-seven-year-old father of seven enlisted in Company B, 28th Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry as first sergeant. He rose to the rank of Captain in July 1863 after Capt. William Myers Jordan was forced to resign after being wounded at Chancellorsville. Amazingly, George would serve throughout the war without being wounded. He would resign his position due to sickness in January 1865.

Come learn about George’s regiment and hear stories about other Mount Pleasant area Civil War Veterans on April 18 as the Mount Pleasant Area Historical Society presents our latest Dinner/Speaker Series, “A Night Out with the Blue and Gray: Mount Pleasant in the Civil War.”
For just $20.00, you will get a delicious home cooked meal followed by an hour lecture by historian Rick Meason about Mount Pleasant’s contributions to the Civil War.

The event will be held at the Mount Pleasant American Legion at 752 West Main Street. Doors open at 5:00 P.M. Dinner is served at 5:30. Presentation begins at 6:30. Click the link below for more info and tickets.
https://www.facebook.com/events/1420385033154966/

03/23/2026

Henry Harrison Hauger was born in Somerset County in 1846. His father, a farmer by trade, moved the family to Donegal sometime before 1850. Although technically too young to enlist, Hauger joined the Union army on August 26, 1862. He traveled nearly ten miles to the village of Mount Pleasant and enlisted in Company B 142nd Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry. He would go on to fight at places like Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, and Gettysburg.

Come learn about Henry’s regiment, and stories about other Mount Pleasant area Civil War Veterans on April 18 as the Mount Pleasant Area Historical Society presents our latest Dinner/Speaker Series, “A Night Out with the Blue and Gray: Mount Pleasant in the Civil War.”
For just $20.00, you will get a delicious home cooked meal followed by an hour lecture by historian Rick Meason about Mount Pleasant’s contributions to the Civil War.

The event will be held at the Mount Pleasant American Legion at 752 West Main Street. Doors open at 5:00 P.M. Dinner is served at 5:30. Presentation begins at 6:30. Click the link below for more info and tickets.

https://www.facebook.com/events/1420385033154966/

03/07/2026

In this incredibly touching photo from the early 1930s, an unidentified young woman mourns by three graves belonging to members of the Klimcak family in Visitation Cemetery. Petro and Anna Lubado Klimcak immigrated to the United States from Austria in 1891 with their several young children. They settled in East Huntingdon Township where Petro found employment as a coke worker in the local coal and coke operations. By 1920, the couple had eight children. Sadly, Petro would pass away on February 25, 1925 due to complications from stomach cancer. The family purchased a beautiful marble headstone and placed it in his honor. The family would be dealt another blow just two years later when Anna would succumb to a massive heart attack. One additional tragedy afflicted the family on March 10, 1931. The Klimcak’s youngest son, Joseph, was digging coal for use in the family home near the old boiler house on the abandoned Rainey mine property. Suddenly, the roof and back wall of the building collapsed, killing the 16-year-old instantly. He was laid to rest next to his parents in Visitation Cemetery.

While we cannot say for sure, the young woman in the photo could be one of the family’s two daughters, Anna or Elizabeth. Regardless, the sorrowful expression on her face makes the photo feel extremely human. It is a photo that depicts both sadness and tranquility, and it remains one of the earliest known photos that exist from the Visitation Cemetery. It gives us a glimpse of how local people mourned a century ago and shows just how much the cemetery itself has changed. Thanks to Coke Yancosky for loaning us this amazing photo.

01/24/2026

Cars parked along West Smithfield Street are largely obscured by nearly three feet of snow that was dumped on the Mount Pleasant area from March 12 – 14, 1993. For many Mount Pleasant citizens, the ominous weather forecast for this weekend brings back memories of the “Blizzard of ’93.” The storm paralyzed the Mount Pleasant area. It was the worst storm in the town’s recorded history, topping the one that pounded the area from November 24-26, 1950 which dumped over 27 inches. Tremendous winds reached up to 70 miles per hour in some parts of the area, creating snow drifts as high as between 8-10 feet. The misery of the storm was added too by near record low temperatures. Governor Robert P. Casey declared a state of emergency, and it took local crews several days to clear the roads and sidewalks sufficient for the town to get back to normal. What are your memories of this, or any other major snowstorm? Please stay safe this weekend.

Photo from the March 17, 1993 issue of the Mount Pleasant Journal.

12/31/2025

The Mount Pleasant Area Historical Society wishes all of our followers a very happy and prosperous New Year! Thank you for helping us preserve our town's history!

12/25/2025

The Mount Pleasant Area Historical Society wishes all of you a merry, safe, and historic Christmas! Thank you all for helping us preserve the history and traditions of our awesome town. :)

12/11/2025

Attention! Due to inclement weather, our monthly meeting for December has been cancelled. We wish all of our members a Very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! See you in January!

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