Historic Second Baptist of Mount Pleasant

Second Baptist Church, at 407 West Saunders in Mount Pleasant, is the oldest African American church in Iowa. The church was originally built as a Methodist church in 1843, located at the corner of Monroe and Adams Streets. It was moved to its present location about 1856 to make way for the construction of the Asbury Methodist church that opened in 1857. The African American congregation was established in 1863, and the building was initially used as a school for Black children as well as a church. After Mount Pleasant voluntarily integrated its schools in 1867, the building served solely as a church, in continuous use by the Black congregation for 146 years. An addition to the sanctuary and a basement
were added in 1914. When the congregation moved to a new location in 2009, the historic building was donated to the City of Mount Pleasant for preservation.
The church was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2014.

The Mount Pleasant Historic Preservation Commission is working on needed repairs. Currently, plans are underway to raise the building and replace the basement, which has become badly deteriorated. The long-term plan is to develop a museum of the African American history of Mount Pleasant in the building.

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