In 1859, a pioneer colony led to Mt. Pleasant by President James R. Ivie established the settlement, completed a fort for protection from Indians in July 1859, named the colony Mt. Pleasant, and organized a ward on July 9, 1859. Mt. Pleasant was incorporated as a city on February 10, 1868. The community later recalled the Black Hawk War of 1865-6-7 and the grasshopper invasion of 1867-1868. In 1909, descendants of the pioneers of 1859 honored them and inscribed on the monument the names of those pioneers, including William S. Seely, Neils P. Madsen, Rasmus Frandsen, M.C. Christensen, Nathan Staker, Jens C. Jensen, John Tidwell, James Hansen, Henry Wilcox, Peter Mogensen, John Carter, Orange Seely, George Coates, George Farnsworth, Jens Larsen, Peter Hansen, Swen Larsen, Rudolphus N. Bennett, Christian Brotherson, Daniel Page, Neils Widergren Anderson, Andrew Madsen, Mads Madsen, Neils Madsen, Christian Madsen, John Meyrick, Jens Jorgensen, Jens Jensen, Peter Johansen, Neils Johansen, Justus W. Seely, James K. McClenahan, John Waldermar, Christian Hansen, Henry Ericksen, Andrew P. Oman, C.P. Anderson, Christian Jensen, James Harvey Tidwell, Martin Aldrich, Jefferson Tidwell, Paul Dehlin, Mortin Rasmussen, Hans C.H. Beck, Peter M. Peel, Erick Gunderson, Alma Zabriskie, Soren Jacob Hansen, John F. Fechser, Andrew P. Jensen, William Morrison, Hans J. Simpsen, George Frandsen, Peter J. Jensen, Jacob Christensen, Frederick P. Neilson, John L. Ivie, Christian Neilson Christensen, Isaac Allred, and Andrew Johansen.