List of mayors of Cape Girardeau, Missouri

Last updated

The city of Cape Girardeau, Missouri, is the most populous city in Missouri's 8th congressional district and southeastern Missouri which is sometimes known as the Missouri Bootheel.

Contents

List of Mayors

Cape Girardeau mayors since 1843, when the city was incorporated. [1] [2] [3]

MayorTook officeLeft officeAdditional information
E. Mason18431844
George Washington Juden, Sr.
  • (1805-1844)
18441844First elected mayor. [4]
E. Mason1844 [4] 18462nd term (He previously served as mayor, 1843–1844.)
Thomas Johnston
  • (1804-after 1870) [5]
18461849Some sources spell his name as Johnson.
Dr. Patrick Henry Davis
  • (1803-1852)
18491851He was the publisher of the Southern Advocate and State Journal, originally an 1819 newspaper which was the second-oldest Missouri newspaper outside of St. Louis. [2]
Alfred T. Lacey
  • (c.1821-1878) [6]
18511852During the Civil War, this bank president moved his family to Memphis where he remained after the war. [7]
Thomas Baldwin18521853
John C. Watson
  • (1796-1866) [8]
18531854Captain Watson was a Mississippi River boat pilot for 24 years. [8]
Amasa Alton
  • (1810-1855)
18541855
C. T. Gale18551857
John Ivers, Jr.
  • (1824-1885)
18571860
John Albert18601862Cape Girardeau County sheriff, 1870-1878 [9] In 1860, he helped to create the city fire department. [10]
George H. Cramer 18621867Son of one of the county's first German settlers. In June 1861, Major Cramer organized and led a battalion of four Union companies. In 1867, he became a member of Cape Girardeau's first school board. He was the father of Wilson Cramer, [12] Cape Girardeau County prosecuting attorney, 1873–1874. [13]
George C. Thilenius
  • (1829-1910)
18671873The Colonel George C. Thilenius House is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Edward D. Engelmann
  • (1830-1898)
18731877He was from Hanover, Germany, and came to the United States in 1840. He was a clerk of the court of common pleas at Cape Girardeau for 18 years and his son Edward H. Engelmann was also a clerk of the court of common pleas at Cape Girardeau. [14]
Leon Joseph Albert 18771879He spoke French and German and built the Alfred T. Lacy, named after a previous mayor this was the only steamboat ever built at Cape Girardeau. [15] Author Mark Twain served as a co-pilot on the Alfred T. Lacy. [16] Albert Hall (1905-1960), the first dormitory on Southeast Missouri State University, was named after him. [17] [18]
George H. Cramer 187918862nd term (He previously served as mayor, 1862–1867.)
Leon Joseph Albert
  • (1840-1912)
188618912nd term (He previously served as mayor, 1877–1879.)
Harlan P. Pieronnet 18911895
William H. Coerver 18951901He was a druggist for 50 years. His Broadway Street house was later converted into Schulz Surgical Hospital until the opening of Southeast Missouri Hospital in 1928. [21]
Dr. John D. Porterfield19011903
Rodney Gayso Whitelaw
  • (1859-1922)
19031905He may be related to former congressman and Cape Girardeau County prosecuting attorney Robert Henry Whitelaw (1854-1937). [13]
William H. Coerver
  • (1848-1940) [8]
190519072nd term (He previously served as mayor, 1895–1901.)
Dr. Warren C. Patton 19071909
Merit E. Leming
  • (1862-1938)
19091911After serving on a dormitory association, Leming Hall (1905-1972), [23] the first women's dormitory on Southeast Missouri State University, was named after him. [18]
Frederick A. Kage 19111917Cape Girardeau County sheriff, 1882-1886 [9] He served in city and county government for 63 years. [24]
William Hirsch
  • (1866-1939)
19171918Born in Madison, Indiana, while his father was born in Germany. [25] He was a county judge, a pioneer merchant, and a banker. [26]
Henry Harl Haas
  • (1878-1935)
19181922First mayor under the municipal form of government. He resigned to become postmaster for 12 years. In 1934, he was defeated in a mayor election by 325 votes. [27]
James Alexander Barks
  • (1879-1936)
19221930
Edward L. Drum
  • (1875-1955)
19301936Cape Girardeau County prosecuting attorney, 1937 [13]
Charles G. Wilson19361938
Edward L. Drum
  • (1875-1955)
193819402nd term (He previously served as mayor, 1930–1936.)
W. Hinkle Statler 19401942Elected at the age of 30, he became the city's youngest mayor at that time.
Raymond E. Beckman 1942 [30] 1948
Walter H. "Doc" Ford
  • (1910-1968)
19481952He was given the nickname "Doc" as his father was a Gordonville doctor. [31]
Manning P. Greer19521954
Narvol A. Randol 19541956He was a lieutenant colonel and battalion commander at the Battle of Bulge. In 1971, he retired as a brigadier general in the Missouri National Guard. [32]
Walter H. "Doc" Ford
  • (1910-1968)
195619642nd term (He previously served as mayor, 1948–1952.)
Waddy Elmo Davis
  • (1903-1992)
19641965
Charles A. Hood19651966In 1965, he purchased the historic St. Charles Hotel [33] where guests reportedly had included Ulysses S. Grant, Mark Twain, and Charles Dickens. [34]
J. Ronald Fischer19661967Cape Girardeau city manager, 1988–1995. [35]
James Hugh Logan19671968First executive director of the Southeast Missouri Hospital Foundation, 1977–85, [36] and president of the hospital's board of directors, 1986–1989. [37]
A. Robert Price19681969
Ivan L. Irvin 19691970He served on the Missouri Real Estate Commission, 1987 to 1992. [38]
Howard C. Tooke
  • (1918-2006)
19701978
Paul W. Stehr
  • (1936-2023)
19781981Stehr grew up in Cape Girardeau and died at age 87 in Charlotte, North Carolina. He won the MVP trophy after his Cape Central team won the state high school basketball championship in 1954. Stehr opened a clothing and athletic store, [39] worked in the insurance business, and served as a captain in the U.S. Marine Corps. [40] Acting city manager, 1981. [35]
Howard C. Tooke
  • (1918-2006)
198119862nd term (He previously served as mayor, 1970–1978.)
Francis E. "Gene" Rhodes
  • (1926-2014)
19861994In 1963, he founded Rhodes Oil Companies which runs Rhodes 101 Stop gas stations and convenience stores. [41] He served in the U.S. Army in the Pacific Theatre during World War II. [42]
Albert M. Spradling, III [43] [44] 19942002Son of Missouri state senator Albert Spradling, Jr.
Jay Knudtson20022010Banker and Southeast Missouri State University Board of Regents member (2011-2018). [45]
Harry Rediger
  • (1937-2024)
20102018Former manager of the J. C. Penney in Cape Girardeau. Many years on the United Way Board of Directors. [46] [47] He was born in Seward, Nebraska, and later served in the Naval Reserve. [48]
Bob Fox20182022Former city councilman of Cape Girardeau
Stacy Blakeslee Kinder2022-First female mayor of Cape Girardeau, former councilwoman, and former member of the Cape Girardeau School Board [49]

Notable city managers for Cape Girardeau

City managers [50] Took officeLeft officeAdditional information
Paul F. Frederick19661970First Cape Girardeau city manager. He was from Minot, North Dakota.
W. G. Lawley19701980
Paul Stehr19811981Acting city manager. Mayor of Cape Girardeau, 1978–81.
Gary A. Eide19811987
J. Ronald Fischer19881995Mayor of Cape Girardeau, 1966–1967.
Michael G. Miller19952003Died in 2017. [51]
Doug Leslie20032009
Scott A. Meyer [52] 20092020Former director of facilities management at Southeast Missouri State University.
Kenneth Haskin2021presentCity manager of Texarkana, Texas, from 2013 until 2021, and Texarkana's assistant city manager and director of economic development from 2008 until 2013. [53]

Notable members of the Cape Girardeau city council

  • David Limbaugh, commentator and author who served as a member of the Cape Girardeau City Council for eight years, including six as mayor pro-tem. [54]
  • Raymond Melvin Gateley (1926-2018), former president of the Missouri State Teacher's Association who served in the Army Air Corps during the Pacific War and as a member of the Cape Girardeau City Council for eight years
  • James “J.J.” Williamson (1952-2022), Cape Girardeau's first black city council member, was elected in 1994. [55]

Key

Key to party colors and abbreviations for members of the U.S. Congress and other politicians or officials
Alaskan Independence (AKIP)
Know Nothing (KN)
American Labor (AL)
Anti-Jacksonian (Anti-J)
National Republican (NR)
Anti-Administration (AA)
Anti-Masonic (Anti-M)
Conservative (Con)
Covenant (Cov)
Democratic (D)
Democratic–Farmer–Labor (DFL)
Democratic–NPL (D-NPL)
Dixiecrat (Dix),
States' Rights (SR)
Democratic-Republican (DR)
Farmer–Labor (FL)
Federalist (F)
Pro-Administration (PA)
Free Soil (FS)
Fusion (Fus)
Greenback (GB)
Independence (IPM)
Independent Democrat (ID)
Independent Republican (IR)
Jacksonian (J)
Liberal (Lib)
Libertarian (L)
National Union (NU)
Nonpartisan League (NPL)
Nullifier (N)
Opposition Northern (O)
Opposition Southern (O)
Populist (Pop)
Progressive (Prog)
Prohibition (Proh)
Readjuster (Rea)
Republican (R)
Silver (Sv)
Silver Republican (SvR)
Socialist (Soc)
Union (U)
Unconditional Union (UU)
Vermont Progressive (VP)
Whig (W)
Independent (I)
Nonpartisan (NP)

References

  • Missouri Secretary of State official manuals
  1. ↑ "Local News: Cape Girardeau mayors since 1843". Southeast Missourian. Cape Girardeau, Missouri. November 1, 2009.
  2. 1 2 Robert Sidney Douglass (1912). History of Southeast Missouri: A Narrative Account of Its Historical Progress, Its People and Its Principal Interests: Volume 1. Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Company.
  3. ↑ "Cape Girardeau mayors". semissourian.com. November 1, 2009. Retrieved October 26, 2014.
  4. 1 2 "Anniversaries in 1949 of Events Recorded in The Missourian Files". Southeast Missouri. Cape Girardeau, Missouri. January 29, 1949.
  5. ↑ "Hill, Meredith, McFarland, Harper, Jackson, Wieland, Mobley" . Retrieved October 27, 2014.
  6. ↑ Andrew Johnson (1997). The Papers of Andrew Johnson: April-August 1868. University of Tennessee Press.
  7. ↑ Mark W. Geiger (2010). Yale Series in Economic and Financial History. Yale University.
  8. 1 2 3 "National Register of Historic Places: Old Lorimier Cemetery" (PDF). Retrieved October 25, 2014.
  9. 1 2 "History of the Sheriff" . Retrieved October 26, 2014.
  10. ↑ "Cape Girardeau Fire Department: Established 1866" . Retrieved May 27, 2022.
  11. 1 2 "Missouri Birth and Death Records Database" . Retrieved October 25, 2014.
  12. ↑ "History of Southeast Missouri: A Narrative Account of its Historical Progress, Its People and its Principal Interests" . Retrieved October 26, 2014.
  13. 1 2 3 "History of the Prosecutor's Office" . Retrieved October 26, 2014.
  14. ↑ Howard Louis Conard, ed. (1901). Encyclopedia of the History of Missouri: A Compendium of History and Biography for Ready Reference. New York: The Southern Hoistory Company. pp. 378–379.
  15. 1 2 "Biographies: Cape Girardeau County Missouri Genealogy Trails" . Retrieved October 26, 2014.
  16. ↑ Mark Twain (1938). Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer Among the Indians: And Other Unfinished Stories. Berkeley, California: University of California Press.
  17. ↑ "Albert Hall & Dearmont House Council Minutes" . Retrieved October 27, 2014.
  18. 1 2 "Leming Scrapbook, A Red-Letter Year for 1967-1968" . Retrieved October 27, 2014.
  19. ↑ "Pieronnet death certificate" (PDF). Retrieved October 26, 2014.
  20. ↑ "Old Lorimier Cemetery" (PDF). Retrieved October 26, 2014.
  21. ↑ "On Broadway" (PDF). Retrieved October 26, 2014.
  22. ↑ "Warren C. Patton death certificate" (PDF). Retrieved October 26, 2014.
  23. ↑ "Leming Hall Falls Victim to University Progress". Southeast Missourian. Cape Girardeau, Missouri. October 12, 1972.
  24. 1 2 "F. A. Kage, Former Cape Mayor, Dies". Southeast Missouri. Cape Girardeau, Missouri. October 6, 1932.
  25. ↑ "William Hirsch death certificate" (PDF). Retrieved October 26, 2014.
  26. ↑ "Out of the past 4/20/14". Southeast Missourian. Cape Girardeau, Missouri. April 20, 2014.
  27. ↑ "Leadership of H. H. Haas Was Widely Recognized in District". Southeast Missourian. Cape Girardeau, Missouri. December 23, 1935.
  28. ↑ "Heart Attack Is Fatal For Hinkle Statler Monday". Southeast Weekly Bulletin. Cape Girardeau, Missouri. April 26, 1962.
  29. ↑ "Former city mayor dies at 74". Southeast Missourian. Cape Girardeau, Missouri. October 4, 1971.
  30. ↑ He became mayor as acting mayor while Hinkle Statler was serving in the military during World War II.
  31. ↑ "Mayor Walter H. Ford". Southeast Missourian. Cape Girardeau, Missouri. July 30, 2010.
  32. 1 2 "Community leader Randol dead at 83". Southeast Missourian. Cape Girardeau, Missouri. August 29, 1999.
  33. ↑ "A century of commerce (Part 1, 1904-1990)" . Retrieved October 26, 2014.
  34. ↑ "Themis Turns A Thousand Tales" (PDF). Retrieved October 26, 2014.
  35. 1 2 "Former Cape Girardeau city managers" . Retrieved October 27, 2014.
  36. ↑ "SoutheastHEALTH Scholarship Opportunities". Archived from the original on October 26, 2014. Retrieved October 26, 2014.
  37. ↑ "Meet our Board of Directors" . Retrieved October 26, 2014.
  38. 1 2 "Ivan Irvin obituary". Southeast Missourian. Cape Girardeau, Missouri. March 21, 2008.
  39. ↑ "Former Cape mayor, business owner, 'family man' Paul Stehr dies at 87" . Retrieved September 5, 2023.
  40. ↑ "Capital Insurance and Associates" . Retrieved October 26, 2014.
  41. ↑ "A Short History of our flagship brand -- Rhodes 101 Stops". Archived from the original on October 27, 2014. Retrieved October 27, 2014.
  42. ↑ "Former Cape Girardeau mayor, Rhodes 101 founder dies". December 16, 2014. Retrieved December 20, 2014.
  43. ↑ Jim Grebing (ed.). Official Manual State of Missouri 1997-1998. p. 818.
  44. ↑ Julius Johnson (ed.). Official Manual State of Missouri 1999-2000. p. 799.
  45. ↑ "Jay B. Knudtson" . Retrieved October 26, 2014.
  46. ↑ "Captured on Film #70". Southeast Missouri. Cape Girardeau, Missouri. June 30, 2016.
  47. ↑ "City of Cape Girardeau - Mayor-Cape-Girardeau". Cape Girardeau, Missouri. Retrieved June 30, 2016.
  48. ↑ "Former Cape Girardeau mayor dies at 86" . Retrieved September 24, 2024.
  49. ↑ "Cape Girardeau Mayor-Elect Stacy Kinder shares her plans for the city" . Retrieved April 19, 2022.
  50. ↑ "Former Cape Girardeau city managers" . Retrieved July 13, 2017.
  51. ↑ "Former Cape Girardeau city manager Michael Miller dies" . Retrieved July 13, 2017.
  52. ↑ "Cape Girardeau hires Scott Meyer as city manager" . Retrieved July 13, 2017.
  53. ↑ "Incoming Cape city manager's accomplishments detailed" . Retrieved April 20, 2021.
  54. ↑ "David Limbaugh biography" . Retrieved May 27, 2022.
  55. ↑ "Sikeston native, first Black Cape Girardeau city council member, dies" . Retrieved May 27, 2022.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.