Mt. Pleasant Beautiful

With the cooperation of the Southeast Iowa Union, the Mt. Pleasant Historic Preservation Commission will be publishing weekly peeks at some of the featured homes in the 1909 book, 'Mt. Pleasant Beautiful.” In the series, the 1909 picture will be contrasted with one of recent vintage. The commission has been collecting information for the eventual issuance of a new book updating the information on the still-standing homes from the 1909 publication.

You can test your knowledge of historic Mt. Pleasant with this column. The identity of the featured home will be published the week following the initial publication.

Last week's featured home the Carter House, 807 N. Broadway St.

In 1909, this week's featured home was occupied by the builders, Frederick Barron Crane and his wife Edna, who had built the house in 1905 based on a design by Burlington architect George Washburn. The Crane family continued to occupy the house until Edna's death in 1962. She had been a widow for 16 years, F B. having died in 1946.

One of the many members of the Crane family involved in early Mt. Pleasant history, F.B. was active in many aspects of Mt. Pleasant life. He operated Crane Jewelry, was a trustee of the hospital, and a bank director among other things.

He is perhaps best remembered for his active participation in the forming and development of the Mt. Pleasant Golf & Country Club, which opened in 1928. Originally the group set up a course in the area surrounding the historic home site of Mt. Pleasant pioneer Presley Saunders. Although that garnered a considerable amount of interest, eventually nothing came of it, and Crane and his friends went to work to develop another course on the QT. They raised the necessary funds and proposed an operating plan that worked out well. That their project can be deemed successful is attested to by the club's continued use for almost 90 years.