New World of Darkness Timeline
- 1854: Graduation Act – Purchasing land for cheap, settlers and timber barons come to area
- 1860: Mount Pleasant founded by David Ward, etc.
- 1862: Homestead Act brings more settlers. Coal found in Mount Pleasant area; mining begins.
- 1863: Harvey Morton (nephew of George Morton, New York investor and civil engineer) arrives to promote village.
- 1871: Pere Marquette railroad reaches Clare.
- 1872: Railroad reaches to St. Louis from Saginaw. Coal mines extend network of tunnels under Mount Pleasant Village and surrounding area.
- 1875: Fire leaves Mount Pleasant in ashes – August 5th (Thursday) destroys much of the business district. Suspected arson.
- 1879: Enter Railroad between Saginaw and St. Louis; by October, it is at Mount Pleasant.
- 1880: Railroad stop created at Coleman. Department of the Interior to expand its program of schools for Indians.
- 1881: Sewer system began (sort of); Mount Pleasant Railroad reaches Big Rapids.
- 1882: A second fire ripped through Broadway: 5 buildings and the St. James Hotel. Mount Pleasant Union School opens in September (grades 1st through 12th), Maple Street School, Kinney School and the Catholic Sacred Heart Academy.
- 1883: Telephone connection with Detroit. Coal mines under Mount Pleasant Village “dry up” tunnels continue outward
- 1886: Orphan train arrives at Mount Pleasant; 34 youngsters to find homes and, all but 9 found homes here.
- 1888: Sewer System completed. Riffle factory built. New Catholic church to be built
- 1889: Thomas Palmer, a Detroit Investor, buys up huge tracks of land in Isabella County. Mount Pleasant named Hub of Michigan via Detroit news. Spiritualist movement takes root in Mount Pleasant – Hub of Michigan – rumors persist that Mount Pleasant is the center of Michigan – Convergence of Ley Lines. Central Michigan University founded as a real estate promotion – Normative School. J.S. McPherson of Detroit comes to Mt. P to talk about public gas lights. Basket factory, Gorham Bros. opens. C.M.C. Cook sold 5,000 acres that belonged to ex-senator Thos. W. Palmer. Mount Pleasant Electric Company to light the town city lights.
- 1890: Number of natives in Isabella county dwindled to less than half of the peak number and most were living on the reservation. There still remained a very large quantity of land which had never been assigned. Mount Pleasant Business exchange felt this idle land impeded growth. They exerted pressure on the department of the interior to dispose of the land asap. Would be done so in 1891. Many natives from other parts of the nation as well as Canada came to claim land, even though Saginaw chip objected. Population swells as industry in Mount Pleasant skyrockets. Dealing with extra population and issues with Union Township. Mount Pleasant reclaims some of the Coal mines and grows down. Subway construction begins. City electric lights more popular. Jordan business college grows (W.A.Jordan)
- 1893: George Fuller opens a wagon and Carriage repair shop on Michigan Street.
- Dr. Riopel resigned from Native school, Dr. Andrew Spencer from North Carolina appointed to replace him. Discipline was strict
- 1894: Country around Leaton destroyed in fire two sawmills destroyed. Business is booming, Foundry and plow company. Sewers expand.
- 1895: Normal School begins construction. Samuel Whaley Hopkins pushed for a College in Central Michigan. Father of CMU. Fire guts main building. Telephones grow in popularity.Mount Pleasant continues to expand. Ringling Circus visits with more than 5,000 in attendance.
- 1896: Bicycle manufacturing begins.
- 1897: Mount Pleasant Coal Company opens. Phone company allows long distance calls. Browns Dairy doing well.
- 1899: Main building of the native school destroyed by arson by girl student. Mount Pleasant Electrical plant opens.
- 1900: Population booms (+900) and city gains new cement walkways.
- 1901: February 16th, law for Native schools implemented. First superintendent was Dr. E. E. Riopel from Detroit. Masons got the pleasure to lay corner stone and assited by Knights Templar, Knights of Pythias, Bell Telephone company comes to town vs Union Telephone company. Sewers expand. Substantial Growth leads to new roads, walks, buildings, etc.
- 1903: Dr. Watley of Blanchard invents first x-ray machine. Mount Pleasant oil company and Star oil company organized in the fall.
- 1904: First automobile comes to town.
- 1906: Gang of pickpockets, gamblers and fakes accompany the circus of Cole Brothers.
- 1907: New condensed milk factory begins construction.
- 1908: New high school is constructed.
- 1910: Roads being paved with brick. May 13th, robbers use nitroglycerin to rob post office. That autumn, small pox outbreak leads to quarantine.
- 1911: Gasoline engines and suburban electric railroad improvement out of Ann Arbor. Rail cars instituted as public transportation in instituted.
- 1912: Mr. Brown comes from Pennsylvania to procure leases on land prospecting for oil. Mysterious sickness afflicting many children cause local school board to not convene school. Drilling for oil started in the area (in our time line they found some) Lead to industrial boom.
- 1913: Closing of Immoral houses in the city
- 1914: Industry continues to boom. Chemical plants in Mount Pleasant and Midland feel effects of conflicts in Europe. Mt. Pleasant Motor Company begins, Mr. Lampke – in our time line this succeeded.
- 1916: First hospital opens.
- 1917: US enters World War I.
- 1918: Spanish flu epidemic.
- 1919: World War I ends.
- 1920 Mount Pleasant's City population continues to boom. Sugar plant building nears completion. Prohibition begins Religious women lead rally cry; Bootlegging begins under city of Mount Pleasant rife with crime. Racial tension builds and is quickly struck down.
- 1925: December 7th – Fire destroys main building of CM Normal School. Warriner Hall built as main building. Subway project expands.
- 1929: Great Depression begins.
- 1933: Native school closed, unlike other schools many natives supported the school and lamented its closing. Prohibition ends.
- 1934: Mount Pleasant General hospital opens.
- 1939: World War II begins.
- 1950: Korean Conflict begins.
- 1951: World War II officially ends.
- 1953: Korean Conflict ends.
- 1963: Martin Luther King Jr. “I have a dream: speech. JFK assassinated.
- 1964: Civil Rights Act passed. Vietnam War begins.
- 1965: Malcolm X assassinated.
- 1967: Race riots.
- 1968: Martin Luther King, jr. assassinated.
- 1973: Vietnam War ends for the United States.
- 1979: Omega Tech founded in Alma.