The Union Block of Mount Pleasant, Iowa

Mount Pleasant, Iowa

Mount Pleasant is a city in and the county seat of Henry County, Iowa, in the United States. The population was 8,668 in the 2010 census, a decline from 8,751 in the 2000 census. It was founded in 1835 by pioneer Presley Saunders.- History :...

 was built by William McCandless in 1861. Historically it was used as offices and by the county courts. In the Union Block in 1869, Arabella A. Mansfield became the first woman in the United States awarded a license to practice law. The third floor housed the Opera House or Union Hall, a gathering place for the community. Early supporters of women's rights and civil rights spoke there, including Frederick Douglass

Frederick Douglass

Frederick Douglass was an American social reformer, orator, writer and statesman. After escaping from slavery, he became a leader of the abolitionist movement, gaining note for his dazzling oratory and incisive antislavery writing...

, Bronson Alcott, Anna Dickinson, Susan B. Anthony

Susan B. Anthony

Susan Brownell Anthony was a prominent American civil rights leader who played a pivotal role in the 19th century women's rights movement to introduce women's suffrage into the United States. She was co-founder of the first Women's Temperance Movement with Elizabeth Cady Stanton as President...

 and Elizabeth Cady Stanton

Elizabeth Cady Stanton

Elizabeth Cady Stanton was an American social activist, abolitionist, and leading figure of the early woman's movement...

.
Preservation Iowa had listed Union Block on its most endangered buildings list because of its poor condition and lack of preservation plan. The building was badly damaged by an early morning fire on Jan. 25, 2011. In 2011, bonds issued by the city of Burlington and state grants awarded $200,000 of the estimated $3.5 million needed for renovation.