Mt. Pleasant was the site of Monroe County Civil War skirmish in 1865

Modern-day bridge over Shomo Creek.

The Mt. Pleasant and Eliska communities on County Road 1 in the southwest corner of the county are somewhat of an oddity when it comes to place names. Many people reasonably think that the Mt. Pleasant Methodist Church and the Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church are located in the Mt. Pleasant community, but they are actually located in what we now call Eliska. Prior to the establishment of the Eliska post office in 1899, this area was probably known as Mt. Pleasant, which is why those churches have the names that they have today.

Most historical maps show “downtown” Mt. Pleasant to be located a couple of miles south of modern-day Eliska, just south of Shomo Creek and north of the Chrysler community. Mt. Pleasant is one of the oldest settled communities in Monroe County. A post office was first established there in 1824, about 115 years before it officially closed in 1939.

I found myself traveling through the old Mt. Pleasant community last Thursday afternoon and could not help but wonder what it must have looked like in its heyday. At one time, a sizeable number of people lived in this community, but today you’ll find only a few scattered homes between Shomo Creek and Chrysler. No doubt it is a quiet place to live, nestled in this sparsely-populated pocket of the county.

On a whim, I pulled over just south of Shomo Creek and walked out on the bridge for a look at the creek’s dark, sluggish waters. As I stood there, I remembered that not far from here in April 1865 the only skirmish of the War Between the States fought on Monroe County soil took place. That engagement involved about 3,500 Union soldiers on their way to Claiborne and the 15^th Confederate Regiment (Mounted), which consisted of about 130 men.

The 15^th planned to ambush the Federals at the rain-swollen creek, but when they opened fire, Union troops cut many of them down with their rifled cannons. Between 40 to 50 soldiers were killed in the skirmish, and the dead were buried in a mass burial trench. At least one ghost story is told about this mass grave, but that is a tale for another day.

As I walked back to my truck, I also remembered stories that I’ve heard about a large cave located southwest of the Mt. Pleasant community. Supposedly, water flows along the cave’s bottom, and it was once used by moonshiners, who wanted to keep their stills hidden from prying eyes. No doubt Indians used this cave for shelter long before European settlers entered the territory.

Whether or not the entrance to this cave can still be found is somewhat debatable. I have heard people say that the entrance collapsed years ago when a large piece of heavy logging equipment drove too close to the mouth of the cave. This may or may not be true.

In the end, please let me hear from you if you know any more about the history of the old Mt. Pleasant community. I’m especially interested in hearing any old ghost stories, local legends or Indian lore from this part of the county. Let’s make an effort to document this information now before it gets lost in the hidden fogs of history.