Mount Pleasant Four Corners Burying Grounds

This cemetery is among the few reminders of the community of Mount Pleasant, Kansas, which was also known as Four Corners. The cemetery was officially established in 1870, however, burials at this location date back to 1858. At its peak, Mount Pleasant was home to several churches, a school, a Blacksmith, farms, and the Johnson County Fair. Over time, people migrated to Gardner and other nearby communities. The last burial appears to have occurred in 1908, although records are incomplete and the cemetery nearly disappeared under trees and vegetation due to neglect. A substantial restoration project that began in 2020 has led to renewed interest in the history of the former community.

Formally established in 1870, Mt. Pleasant Four Corners Burying Grounds is located about sixteen miles southwest of Kansas City and four and a half miles northeast of Edgerton. The earliest recorded burial occurred in 1858 and the last burial occurred in 1908. The community dates back to the Bleeding Kansas and Civil War era, and the community grew slowly. By the 1890s, churches started moving to Gardner, reflecting the movement of their congregations. The cemetery was almost unrecognizable by the twenty-first century due to overgrowth and several missing or broken tombstones. However, an extensive renovation project in 2020 prevented its further decline and allowed for its listing among Kansas State Landmarks and the National Register of Historic Places. Today, the cemetery stands as a reminder of a former town and its residents.

J. Ridlon, who buried his daughter Ida Mae in the cemetery prior to her eighth birthday, donated or sold (sources disagree) the land to Trustees of the Mount Pleasent Christian Church in 1870. Although, the first known burial occurred a dozen years before that, in 1858 — M.A. Groves, the wife of Elder G.W. Groves, a Civil War Veteran who served with the Kansas infantry. Estimates suggest thirty-seven graves exist in the burial site, although there could be more; no records exist regarding the burial of each person at the site. As of 2021, roughly twenty-five headstones and several newly-added crosses marked those known to have been buried in the historic cemetery. Approximately nine rows of headstones and crosses exist, including uneven rows or random stones, placed throughout the lot that spans a little more than two acres. 

Except for the granite headstone that marks William Easdale's burial plot, one will find marble tombstones typical of gravesites during the late nineteenth century. William Easdale died in 1908 and represents the last-known person to be buried there. In some sections, there are families, including several husband and wife plots and a couple of mother and child plots. As well, of the two dozen headstones repaired during a 2020-21 renovation project, twelve of them mark the deaths of infants and small children.

The cemetery memorializes a town that is one of many nineteenth-century townships and communities in Johnson County that no longer exist. First settled in the 1860s, Mount Pleasant, better known by its "Four Corners" nickname, grew quickly enough to serve as the home to the Johnson County Fair in the late 1870s. Col. G. M. Waugh, who commanded troops during the Civil War, gave a speech during the fair. At its peak, Mt. Pleasant consisted of three churches, a single one-room schoolhouse, a Blacksmith, a general store, a boxing club, a literary society and library, the now-historic cemetery, and farmland. Farmers routinely doubled as preachers, pastors, and doctors. For instance, S.H. Ayers, also a farmer, provided first aid, stitched wounds, and even set broken bones. Meanwhile, T.G. Marshall, a farmer, also served as the town's undertaker; one can only surmise that Marshall prepared bodies for burial in Mt. Pleasant Four Corners Burying Grounds. 

The town's decline started in 1895 when the town's Methodist Episcopal Church decided to discontinue its church services because they couldn't find a new minister. As a result, the congregation eventually merged with the Methodist Church in Gardner. The small community continued to decline slowly during the Great Depression, and as more organizations and businesses followed the move to Gardner. The former church buildings served as barns before they, and the schoolhouse, were eventually demolished. What remains, however, is the historic Mt. Pleasant Four Corners Burying Grounds thanks to the renovation project that commenced in 2020. The cemetery survives as a reminder of a once-thriving town, and its plots are monuments to its residents.

Atwell, Teri. "Registration Form: Mt. Pleasant Four Corners Burying Grounds." National Register of Historic Places. kshs.org. 2021. https://www.kshs.org/resource/national_register/nominationsNRDB/JohnsonCounty_MtPleasantFourCornersBuryingGround_Listed_09222021.pdf.

Marriott, Mica. "Once-Thriving Mt. Pleasant Dwindled, Died in Southwest Johnson County." The Gardner News (Gardner, KS). Mar 11, 2015. 

Mt. Pleasant Four Corners Burying Grounds Est 1870. Accessed February 22, 2022. https://www.facebook.com/MtPleasantFourCornersCemetery/.