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Ursenbach Funeral Home

The property on which Ursenbach Funeral Home stands was originally owned by the U.S. Government. A patent was given to William S. Seely, Mayor of Mount Pleasant, for 1,279.84 acres, “…in trust for the several use and benefit of the inhabitants of the town of Mount Pleasant.” This was dated May 1, 1872 and recorded March 20, 1874.

William S. Seely issued a deed to William Morrison on behalf of the Mount Pleasant School District, dated April 1, 1870 and recorded March 7, 1876. A school known as the ‘North Ward’ school was built on the property. When the larger Hamilton School was built a warranty deed was issued to transfer the property to Mount Pleasant City, on February 15, 1898 and recorded March 11, 1898. The building was used as City Hall.

Joseph and Amy Ursenbach bought the land on December 13, 1939. They remodeled the building and used half as a residence and half for their Funeral Home. The building was just one story at that time, with very high ceilings. A second floor was added to the residence creating three bedrooms, a bathroom and storage upstairs. The family lived in what is now the chapel while the remodeling was completed. They had very poor kitchen facilities by today’s standards: a coal stove, a kitchen table and a sink built on a very small makeshift counter.

There were big garages behind the building with large foundations which had to be relocated. The city moved the buildings and the family had to remove the foundations with dynamite. There was a bell tower on the front of the building that was also removed.

The building was flooded more than once before a flood dam was built east of town. In the flood of 1947 their neighbor’s barn ended up next to the house and some funeral equipment was swept away by the water. There is still some flood mud in the basement.

On September 2, 1965 Earl and Mary Ursenbach purchased the building and land. Amy still lived in the building and was active in business until her death in 1996. An addition was made on the north side of the building in 1979 adding an office and casket display room. Earl passed away in 1995, leaving the business to his family.

In 1997 the building was restored to look much like the original, adding a bell tower , and changing the windows. The inside of the building was remodeled, enlarging the Funeral Home to better serve the people of our community.

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