Mt. Pleasant Methodist Church

Mt. Pleasant Methodist Church. Monroe County. , Captain Waller of Selma built Mt. Pleasant Methodist Church in the 1820s after he realized that no house of worship existed in the area. Captain Waller moved to the area to engage in the timber business and built the county's first sawmill on the banks of the creek that now bears his name. In constructing the church, he provided the community with a building that has stood over 200 years. During remodeling in 1890, the balcony where enslaved people had sat for church services was removed and a vaulted ceiling was added to replace the flat roof. In 1945, stained glass windows were added. The building has been home to Methodists as well as Baptists, and also served as a Reconstruction-era school, where Captain Waller's daughter, Marie Waller, taught. Although the structure has been repaired many times, its original foundation and Greek Revival style remains intact. The wooden pegs, which according to local history were carved out and pounded in by Captain Waller so long ago, still hold the church together. Since regular services ceased in the 1960s, the building now serves as home of the Mt. Pleasant Historical Preservation Society., Listed on William Bartram's 1775 travel route, the Mt. Pleasant community is older than the state of Alabama. The community was quite prosperous at its height. More than ten doctors and dentists and several businesses and stores were located here, including Alabama Apiaries, who bred and shipped Italian bees to northern states during the early 20th century. The timber industry also played an essential role in sustaining the citizens. Logging trains, camps, boarding houses, and family farms dotted the landscape. Steamboats provided transportation for settlers to receive goods and ship cash crops to market. Many families centered their lives around the two churches. Schools were established by families seeking a better education for their children. In addition to the Reconstruction-era school in the Methodist church, six other schools were located here. The old wooden pews in the church still bear the carvings of schoolchildren on them. In 1914, John T. Mitchell was appointed postmaster of the community. Mitchell named the new post office Eliska in honor of his young daughter. Today, Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church is located on the former site of the Eliska post office, just across the road from the Mt. Pleasant Methodist Church., Listed in the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage on March 24, 2022