In 1873, nearly 20 years after the first attempt to found a permanent settlement surrounding Sioux Falls the town founders, spearheaded by Dr. Joseph Roberts, purchased land east of Sioux Falls for a cemetery.  The first Board declared thenselves in the cemetery business, the name of Mt. Pleasant was given to the site and burials began almost immediately.

    This was the beginning of our story, which has unfolded for the last 137 years.  The history of Mt. Pleasant has in many respects mirrored that of the city which has, since those early days, grown to not only enclose its confines, but extend for miles beyond in all directions. The economic times of the city through all those decades are reflected in the interment and ownership records housed in our archive. Periods of prosperity and want are clearly evident not only for the cemetery itself but for the nearly 20,000 souls interred here. From the early Potter's Field burial ground in a remote corner of the cemetery to the high ground sections, wherein rest the Victorian elite of wealth and business in early Sioux Falls, Mt. Pleasant  spans the entire economic spectrum of the city throughout its best and worst time. Records during the "Great Depression" indicate how few people could purchase more that a single burial space for a family member. Many of those spaces were purchased by friends of the family and many of those purchased were never completely paid for. The areas of the cemetery where most of those burials were occuring now look as if there are large areas of open ground. This is only because there was no money to mark the graves and they remain unmarked to this day.  Mt. Pleasant received most of the city's poor for burial during these dark economic days, including inmates from the State Penitentiary who died during incarceration, extending back to the turn of the century.  During the Second World War veterans killed overseas in battle and returned to Sioux Falls were buried free of charge in honor of their sacrifice to the nation.  There have been many ups and downs over this lengthy span of time and stories both good and bad are recorded for posterity. The Cemetery has now moved into a new era, and after years of neglect, through new leadership and innovative ideas, it is experiencing not only a revitalization of the grounds but an entirely new mindset of operation to restore it to its rightful place of prominence in this community, a prominence envisioned by its

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