Ann Arbor News Photographs In Color
The Ann Arbor District Library Archives is home to over 2.3 million photographic negatives, the vast majority of which are in black and white. For decades color photography was nonexistent, prohibitively expensive, or its processing was inaccessible. Since photography’s earliest days people have experimented with applying color by hand to bring images closer to capturing our vivid world. Many of the postcards in our Making of Ann Arbor collection were hand-colored to create a truer-to-life image of the city's landmarks than the photographic technology of the time allowed.
Below is a selection of photographs from our Ann Arbor News collection that have been colored through a combination of automation and hand-applied hues. In most cases it is impossible to know what colors were originally present, so these should be viewed as an artistic interpretation rather than an accurate depiction of what was. But adding color to these images, whether accurate or not, allows us to see our past in an entirely new way. Enjoy!
Kathleen & Johnny Dolan On Horses Entered into the Northville Show, May 1938, Ann Arbor News
Original Caption: Kathleen Dolan on Goldie. Johnny Dolan on Sheba.
University of Michigan Cheerleaders, September 1947, Ann Arbor News
Ice Cream For Everyone, June 1957, Ann Arbor News
Original Caption: JUST ABOUT EVERYBODY'S EATING CONES: Ann Arbor's finally getting some summer-like weather, so, to help commemorate National Dairy Month and also to please their palates, this group of pals downs ice cream cones. They are (left to right) Rodney Spencer, 5, his friend, "Major,", Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity mascot, and Judy Tsuchuira, 3.
Bethel AME Church Groups and Leaders, July 1944, Ann Arbor News
Barton Boat Club Member L. Clifford Dickason Rides the Rail of Craft, September 1947, Ann Arbor News
Original Caption: L. Clifford Dickason, of 1013 Rose Ave., rides the rail of his sailing craft as he comes about on Barton Pond, where Boat Club members congregate every Sunday from April through November to race their boats. A club grand championship is decided at the end of each season.
Children Listening to Story at Dunbar Center, December 1940, Ann Arbor News
Randall H. Nelson & His Leader Dog Sonny, December 1951, Ann Arbor News
Original Caption: AIDED BY LIONS CLUB WORK: Randall H. Nelson of 1201 E. University Ave. (above), a doctoral student in political science at the University who was blinded by a German shell burst in World War II, is one of many sightless persons reaping benefits from a statewide program of Lions Clubs. Michigan Lions, including those from the Ann Arbor organization headed by President S. D. Casey, contribute heavily to "Leader Dog" training at Rochester, Mich. Each dog, such as Sonny, the German boxer pictured with Nelson, costs an estimated $1,200 to train for the task of guiding a blind master. The dogs are purchased from the Leader Dog League for a token payment of $250.
Members of the Devil Dogs Motorcycle Club, Ann Arbor, 1938, Ann Arbor News
Boys Eating Lunches During Nutrition Drive, Mack School, October 1942, Ann Arbor News
Washtenaw County Court House, September 1948, Ann Arbor News
Award-Winning "Let's Play" With Her Trainer Don Webb, September 1939, Ann Arbor News
Original Caption: ANN ARBOR DOG WINS FIRST PRIZE: This 11-month-old cocker spaniel, "Let's Play" won first place in the American bred black female class at the dog show sponsored by the Jaxon Kennel Club of Jackson. Owned by Mr. and Mrs. Harold G. Ristine, 580 Allison Dr., Ann Arbor, the dog was shown by Don Webb of Ypsilanti (above), handler and trainer. Let's Play was sired by Rennard's First Chance of Plymouth, and her dam is Lady In Red VI, owned by the Ristines.
UM International Student & Refugee On Campus, December 1941, Ann Arbor News
Rubber Salvage, Dixboro, July 1942, Ann Arbor News
Pete Brown At Model Airplane Meet, July 1948, Ann Arbor News
Original Caption: YOUNGEST CONTESTANT EXCELS: Five-year-old Pete Brown, son of Howard C. Brown of 827 Brookwood Pl., squats beside the gasoline model he entered in yesterday's model plane meet. A few minutes later he successfully launched and guided the plane for a five-minute flight and brought it in to a perfect landing. He was the meet's youngest entrant.
Ski tow at Barton Hills, January, 1951, Ann Arbor News
Ted Donahue Feeds Treppy At The University of Michigan Zoo, November 1946, Ann Arbor News
Original Caption: Intrepidus - the University's domesticated wolverine - is not eating his gamekeeper's hand, as the above picture seems to indicate, but rather is enjoying a dinner of dog food which Ted Donahue is feeding him by hand at the zoo behind the University museum. Treppy (short for his Latin name) is far more dainty in his table manners than a dog, Donahue relates. Although he usually sits up for his dinner, Treppy did not have the courage to do so when the above picture was taken, due to the fact that The News photographer was standing in the opposite corner of the cage. Donahue is a returned veteran and a student at the University.
Media
Black Foodways
In this video compiled from dozens of interviews from the Living Oral History Project and the There Went The Neighborhood Interview Archive, participants share their memories of food and food traditions in their families, including fishing on the Huron River, hosting Fourth of July barbecues, and even starting a restaurant.
The Living Oral History Project is a partnership between the African American Cultural & Historical Museum of Washtenaw County and the Ann Arbor District Library, providing a permanent home for 50+ interviews with Black community members collected over the past decade. The collection continues to grow with interviews added each year.
The There Went The Neighborhood Interview Archive contains 35 interviews that went into the research and making of a documentary film about the closing of Jones School, produced by the Ann Arbor District Library and 7 Cylinders Studio.
Media
AADL Talks To: Jan BenDor and Catherine McClary, Women's Rights Activists
Women’s rights activists Jan BenDor and Catherine McClary have been working together for over 50 years. Among their many pioneering contributions to regional and national causes are the Women’s Crisis Center, domestic violence reform, and legislation to combat job, housing, and sexual discrimination. Jan, a member of the Michigan Women's Hall of Fame, is the founder of the Rape Crisis Center movement in Michigan and has pioneered programs for law enforcement training in the treatment of domestic violence and sexual assault. Catherine, retiring Washtenaw County Treasurer, was the youngest person elected to the Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners and has been recognized nationally for her work fighting home foreclosures and championing the rights of women and people of color. Jan and Catherine talk about their pioneering roles in the rape awareness movement, including their writing and distribution of the influential “Freedom From Rape” publication and their involvement in the passage of Michigan’s landmark 1974 Criminal Sexual Conduct Act, which would become a national model. They also talk about their work to establish the first publicly funded domestic violence shelter in the country and offer their perspective on the continuing challenges women face in the wake of the 2022 Dobbs decision.
Media
50 Years of Celebration: The Dance for Mother Earth Powwow
"In 1972, when many aspects of Native American religions and sacred ceremonies were still prohibited by law, American Indians at the University of Michigan (AIUM) held their first powwow in Ann Arbor. Over the years, the Native American Student Association (NASA), consisting of community members and students, evolved into a group fully dedicated to making the powwow a success. In March of 2024, the Dance for Mother Earth Powwow celebrated its 50th anniversary. In 50 Years of Celebration: The Dance for Mother Earth Powwow, a variety of voices from multiple generations share what the powwow has meant to them." - Filmmaker Jen Howard
Ann Arbor Signs - Original Prints by Veronica Ortolan
"While I work in many artistic mediums ranging from digital to traditional, I have a special love for the very unique and tactile process of blockprinting. Therefore for representing these historical signs, I thought it would only be appropriate to use blockprint, a medium which itself has historical roots going back to older forms of printing like woodcut and letterpress. Each sign was handcarved then handprinted, with each color being printed individually from the same carved block for a layered effect of what is essentially 3 unique prints on the same paper. For the offsetting of the colors, I was also inspired by the slight, flawed offset of colors that was often seen in printing at the time these signs would have been up, resulting in bright colors popping out at the edges of designs unintentionally. This misregistration made it so even commercial pieces which were meant to be identical had slight unique qualities to them, a trait that every blockprint shares as well.
Researching each business and imagining the people who patronized them when they were still open was a delight. From restaurants to bookshops, each sign has a different personality to it, and different challenges involved with carving and printing them. I hope through this series I have been able to bring back a bit of the love these businesses must have had in their lifetime, and possibly remind someone of a good memory they had at them."
-Veronica Ortolan, Printmaker
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Steve's Lunch
Steve's Lunch was a classic 1960s lunch counter diner opened at 1313 S University Ave by Greek immigrant Steve Vaniadis. Around 1972 Steve sold the business to an outgoing Korean couple, known to customers as Mr. and Mrs. Lee. They kept the diner’s name and the no frills location grew into a cultural institution with fantastic Korean food. Steve’s Lunch was a hangout for townies and students alike, and one of the first Ann Arbor restaurants to offer standards like Japchae and Bibimbap. In the late 1970s, the Lee family sold the business, much to the dismay of devoted regulars. |
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| The Cracked Crab
Located at 112 W Washington St, The Cracked Crab was a tiny restaurant with a big reputation. Opened in 1971, it became a celebrated local landmark for consuming some of Ann Arbor’s best seafood. Although the restaurant closed in 1991, many townies still fondly remember the exceptional Dungeness crab and the funky nautical decor. |
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Del Rio
Opened in 1970, Del Rio was a cooperatively run Ann Arbor bar, featuring management by consensus, with owners and employees having equal say. Some would call it a bohemian sanctuary, others simply a hippie bar. On the corner of West Washington and Ashley Streets, at 122 W Washington, this dimly lit space served up the legendary Det Burger (a cheeseburger soaked in beer then topped with mushrooms and black olives), an eclectic music selection from a collection of over 1,000 cassette tapes, indifferent customer service, and the best bathroom graffiti in the city. Following a last-night celebration, it closed in the early morning hours of January 1, 2004. |
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| Bimbo's
Perfect thin-crust pizza cut into squares, peanut shells on the floor, singing along with the band, and pitchers of beer and red pop were all staples of the legendary Bimbo's at 114 E Washington St in Ann Arbor. Matt "Bimbo" Chutich opened this mecca for families in 1962, where parents and children could both enjoy themselves. The fun lasted until the restaurant closed in 1983. Chutich owned/operated a chain of Bimbo’s restaurants all across the country, with locations in Pennsylvania, Georgia, and Minnesota, as well as many other Michigan locations, including another in Ann Arbor known as Bimbo's on the Hill. |
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Blue Frogge
The basement space at 611 Church St, near South University Ave, once housed a restaurant, bar, and disco known as Blue Frogge. Opened in July 1976, it offered "DISCO Dancing 7 Nights A Week" during the height of disco mania. It lasted two years until it was remodeled as Don Cisco’s Mexican Restaurant & Disco in July 1978. Despite its brief existence, Madonna once mentioned frequenting Blue Frogge to a Rolling Stone interviewer, sealing its status as an iconic Ann Arbor nightclub hangout. In July 1979 it transformed into Rick’s American Cafe, which university students still frequent today. |
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| Shaman Drum Bookshop
Shaman Drum Bookshop was an independent Ann Arbor bookstore originally located at 313 S State St. Opened in 1980 by Karl Pohrt, it took over the upstairs space occupied by Paideia Books. In 1994 the beloved store expanded down into two, large, street level storefronts and was frequented by fiercely loyal customers until it closed in June 2009. |
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Media
AADL Talks To: Andy Sacks, Photographer and Documentarian
Andrew Sacks is an award-winning photographer and documentarian in the Ann Arbor area. He came to the University of Michigan in the late 1960s to study art and immediately joined the Michigan Daily newspaper, covering a variety of assignments, from sit-ins and student demonstrations to regional and national political campaigns. During this period, he also played jazz piano with various Ann Arbor musicians. Andy recalls the people and some of the many memorable events that shaped his life and work over the years. Andy’s vast photo negative collection is available at the Bentley Historical Library.
Media
AADL Talks To: Nawal Motawi, Owner of Motawi Tileworks
In this episode, AADL Talks to Nawal Motawi. Nawal tells us about her early years as an artist, how she began Motawi Tileworks, and how the business grew and changed over the years. Nowal also discusses her design processes, and what the future might hold.
From Ann Arbor To Normandy: 2nd Lieutenant Jack Weese
World War II. D-Day, June 6, 1944. The Canadians of the North Shore (New Brunswick) Regiment went ashore to storm and liberate the French seaside village of Saint Aubin-sur-Mer (code-named Nan Red sector, at the eastern end of Juno Beach) from the Germans. They were followed by the United Kingdom's 48th Royal Marine Commando. Days later, on June 10, 1944, an American fighter plane crashed into the sea near the same beach. The aircraft was pulled to shore at low tide by personnel from the United Kingdom's No. 2 Royal Air Force Beach Squadron. The iconic photo below captured the Saint Aubin-sur-Mer, Calvados, Normandy beach, scarred by the battle and the plane's wreckage. What many people don't know about this grim image of war is that the pilot of the plane was from Michigan. This is the story of Second Lieutenant John Alfred Weese, an Ann Arbor soldier who died in France.
Ann Arbor, Before World War II
John Alfred Weese was born January 26, 1920, in Ann Arbor to Douglas and Lorena Staebler Weese. John Staebler was his maternal grandfather. Alfred Weese was his paternal grandfather. Known as Jack to his family, he had an older sister, Virginia, and two younger sisters, Mary & Nancy. He lived here as a child and later resided with his family in several Michigan cities as his father's employment moved them around. He was a 1938 graduate of Durand High School (Shiawassee County) where his father worked for the Railway Express Agency. The Weese family returned to live in Ann Arbor after his graduation. Jack worked a variety of jobs, and attended Lawrence Institute of Technology in Detroit for one semester. He eventually found work as a lathe operator and machinist at the American Broach & Machine Company in downtown Ann Arbor, which is where he was employed when he enlisted.
Fighter Pilot
On August 5, 1942 Jack enlisted in the United States Army Air Corps. He worked at a Detroit recruiting center, and briefly spent time at Fort Custer. In early 1943 he reported at the Army Air Force classification center in Nashville, Tennessee and then was sent to pre-flight school at Maxwell Field, Alabama. By May 1943 he had been transferred to Souther Field, Georgia, for primary flight instruction. He stood third in his class at Souther Field. From there he moved to basic training at Cochran Field, Georgia. In November 1943 Jack was commissioned a second lieutenant and awarded the silver wings of a fighter pilot at a Craig Field graduation ceremony in Selma, Alabama. Attending the ceremony were his parents, two of his sisters, Mary & Nancy, and Irma Barnard, his girlfriend. Days later, when he was home in Ann Arbor on leave, the engagement of Jack and Irma was officially announced in the Ann Arbor News. Following his leave, Jack spent time at Mitchell Field, New York, and Bluethenthal Field in Wilmington, North Carolina, where he received his final combat training.
In 2020, Kris Koebler, daughter of Jack's sister Virginia, shared some early childhood memories of her uncle. "Jack was (I would put it) devastatingly handsome, smart, and brave. I remember the portrait of him that hung in my grandparents’ home until they passed. He was engaged to a lovely girl named Irma Barnard. They were to be married after the war."
"I have memories of riding around Ann Arbor, standing next to him in the front seat of his shiny red convertible. (No seat belts in those days!!) We would be singing “The Army Air Corps” anthem at the tops of our lungs. I was the only one of his nieces and nephews that he ever knew. One of my brothers was born when Jack was overseas, and both my sister and younger brother were born after his death, as were Mary’s and Nancy’s children. I truly wish I could have known him longer and that he could have known his extended family. "
Hell Hawks
In January 1944 Jack travelled to England as part of the United States’ 9th Air Force. In April 1944, Jack joined the 365th fighter group, 386th fighter squadron, piloting a Thunderbolt P-47. They were known as Hell Hawks, one of 18 fighter groups that were part of the 9th Air Force. When Jack arrived they were based in Beaulieu, Hampshire, England.
"So who were the Hell Hawks? Even the lowliest lieutenant of the lot had accomplished something at which tens of thousands had failed: he had completed flight training, had silver wings pinned on his chest, and was now officially qualified to pilot an aircraft. He had successfully made the transition to the mighty P-47 Thunderbolt, the "Jug," and survived to reach the combat theater...They were perfect physical specimens, these young men who strapped into an eighteen-thousand pound Thunderbolt, fired up a roaring, two-thousand-horsepower engine, and flew into battle lugging a veritable arsenal of bombs and ammunition. They had superb bodies and minds and the youthful confidence to believe they were unbeatable." - Hell Hawks! The Untold Story of the American Fliers Who Savaged Hitler's Wehrmacht by Robert F. Dorr & Thomas Jones
Jack's letters to his fiancée Irma shared his experiences as a Hell Hawk. He mentioned bombing bridges and installations in Nazi-held Europe, and taking part in strafing missions (attacking ground targets with bombs or machine-gun fire). From Beaulieu Jack flew two Normandy missions on D-Day, June 6th. He flew two more on June 7th, and one on June 8th. Bad weather with low visibility kept his group grounded on June 9th. On June 10, 1944 he flew his final mission when he was reported ”Missing In Action”. Just a few weeks before his final flight he was awarded an Air Medal with two oak leaf clusters.
Saint Aubin-sur-Mer, Calvados, Normandy, France
On June 10, 1944, U.S. Aircraft DH-5 No.276297 crashed into the sea off Saint Aubin-sur-Mer. The body of John A. Weese, United States Army Air Force, was recovered and buried in Grave No 8 of Bernières-sur-Mer White Beach Cemetery. The officiating Chaplain was the Rev. William E. Harrison, H/Capt., Canadian Army. The aircraft was recovered from the sea at low tide the next day and Royal Air Force No. 83 Group were informed so that salvage action could be taken.
Ann Arbor, During World War II
In 2020, Sally Connors, Jack's younger cousin, shared her memory of 1944. “I was 10 when cousin Jack went missing in action. I had two brothers in the service and this news worried me; would my brothers also go missing? I remember the sadness in my Uncle Doug’s family."
News of Jack's death didn't reach the Weese family until June 28, 1944. The Ann Arbor News ran the story on their front page the following day. In July 1944 the Weese family received the news that Jack had received the posthumous award of the Purple Heart.
By June 1945, a year after Jack's death, the Weese family still had few details about what had happened in France. Lorena Weese, his mother, wrote a letter to the headquarters of the U.S. Army Air Forces asking for a letter from Jack's commanding officer. Below is a copy of the response she received. The details in this correspondence were pulled directly from the original Missing Air Crew Report (MACR).
"...On 10th June 1944 John went out on what we call a Fighter Sweep in the Cherbourg assault area. His flight became separated in the clouds at about six thousand feet. This happened around 1245 hours and at 1310 hours he called in on the radio saying his plane had been hit.The propellor was out and oil pressure was gone. John said he was at seven thousand feet and could see the Beachhead. He thought he could "belly-land" the ship. By that we mean he was going to slide in without using the wheels. At this time he was very cool and acted as if he hadn't been injured. This was all we knew until confirmation of his death was received. For some reason John was not able to "belly-land" the ship and his plane crashed into the English Channel. He was buried in grave eight at Bernières-Sur-Mer Cemetery near St. Aubin-Sur-Mer, Normandy, France.
Please accept our sympathies. I am sorry this letter is so late in reaching you. The memory of John has been an inspiration to his fellow pilots and he has left his mark with us all. He was an excellent flyer who really enjoyed flying..."
Repatriation
The U.S. War Department made it clear that men and women who died overseas would remain there until the end of the conflict. The government had committed resources to fighting the war, not managing the storage and transportation of the fallen. The Weese family now faced a new kind of waiting to bring Jack back to Ann Arbor. The first war dead did not reach American shores until October 1947.
At the end of January 1948 the Weese family received the news that Jack was finally coming home. U.S. Army Transport Corporal Eric G. Gibson was loaded with 1,753 caskets in Europe, each shrouded in an American flag. 61 of these caskets belonged to Michigan servicemen, one of them being John Alfred Weese. Most of the dead on this funeral ship had died on the beaches at Normandy. A photographer captured an image of the ship that would dock in a snowstorm at Brooklyn Army base, New York, and it was published in countless newspapers across the country.
On February 7, 1948, Jack's body arrived by train at the Michigan Central station in Ann Arbor. A military escort traveled with him to the Muehlig Funeral home, and then to Bethlehem Cemetery for a private burial with full military honors. His parents were buried in the same cemetery, many years later.
Afterword/Author's Note
In 2014 aviation artist Ken Stanton contacted the Ann Arbor District Library from England. He had been shown a photo of a war plane crashed on a French beach and was tasked with finding out the story behind it. He had found record of John Weese's name as the pilot, and that John was from Ann Arbor. With our resources in the AADL Archives, I was able to piece together the story of John 'Jack' Weese. Through Ancestry.com, Ken made contact with some of Jack's surviving family members (Cousin Sally, Nieces Kris & Marti), and we all pooled our knowledge and findings. In the end, Ken created a painting of Jack's P-47, Jack's family members learned more about his history, and I dove deep into the research and grew quite fond of Jack in the process.
In 2020, Fanny Hubart-Salmon, contacted the Ann Arbor District Library from Saint Aubin-sur-Mer, Calvados, Normandy. "I grew up in the French town of Saint Aubin sur Mer, France. We are actively researching photos, stories and relatives of soldiers who died on our beach in June 1944 as we keep honoring them. It came to our attention that Alfred John "Jack" Weese, from Ann Arbor, had crashed on the beach 4 days after June 6th." I immediately reached out to Ken Stanton, who reached out to Jack's family members again, and we all provided Fanny with the information we had surfaced in 2014. The end result was a memorial plaque honoring Jack. It was installed above the beach where he, and so many others, made history. Below is a photo of the memorial, which you can visit yourself in Normandy.
A brief video of the 2020 D-Day ceremony honoring Jack Weese in Saint Aubin-sur-Mer is available on YouTube.
Special thanks to Ken Stanton, who first brought Jack to my attention. Special thanks to Jack's surviving family members who helped fill in the pieces, especially Sally Connors, Dr. Kristeen Koebler, & Marti Watson. Special thanks to Fanny Hubart-Salmon who brought everything full circle and worked to permanently honor Jack on the beach in Normandy. In memory of John Alfred Weese, 1920 - 1944.
Media
Local Movement: Five Decades of Dance in Ann Arbor
"The national 'dance boom' of the late 1950's through the 1980's expanded audiences and support for dance. Federal grants supported the development of college dance programs and touring dance companies. The University Musical Society brought dance to the University of Michigan’s Power Center for the Performing Arts, built in Ann Arbor in 1971. Both at the University and in the community, Ann Arbor became a destination for dance. Low-cost performance and rehearsal spaces, community support, and grants helped create and nurture a vital dance scene, and Ann Arbor became home to numerous modern and jazz dance companies including Dance Theater 2, Hydra, Whitley Setrakian’s People Dancing, The J. Parker Copley Dance Company, Jazz Dance Theater, and The Peter Sparling Dance Company. Recurring community dance showcases, such as Spring Dances, Fall Dances, Dancing in Summer, and others took place throughout the year, allowing many choreographers to share their work. The film Local Movement, by Aimee McDonald and Terri Sarris, explores modern dance in Ann Arbor from the 1970's through today." - Terri Sarris
And for more stories from the film, check out the 46-minute directors' cut.
Ann Arbor Mayor Trading Card Set
Friends! I ask you, do you ever have a trouble that gnaws in the deep, dark hours before dawn in recalling all of your facts about Ann Arbor's mayors? Do you find yourself at cocktail parties stammering your way through the biographical details of nineteenth-century local politicians while your more conversant friends laugh behind their glasses at the sorry state of your civic scholarship? It's to be forgiven, dear friends, after all for a town that has been around for only 200 years, we've had a quite a few mayors, and that's a lot of Williams and Roberts and Edwards to keep straight--not to mention the Ingrid, the Ebenezer, and the Cyrenus.
Which one was a scientist? Which ones died in office? Which ones were Whigs?? Well, worry no longer that you are fated to wallow evermore in community chronicle confusion! Now YOU TOO can have all the most-pertinent details about the leaders of our fair city at your fingertips--LITERALLY* (*not literally) with the all-new Ann Arbor Mayor Trading Card Set!
That's right your friends at the AADL Archives and the City Clerk's Office have teamed up to bring you an exciting set of cards both EDIFYING and ENTERTAINING that can teach you all the most important tidbits about every mayor of your town. Who had the boldest fur-lined attire? Who had the most odobenidaean moustache? Who sported a topping pair of mutton chops? IT'S ALL HERE!
And! As an added bonus, these trading cards feature portraits of every mayor (or of every mayor we could find a portrait of) in newly-added color! Some were already in color--we added more color anyway! Experience local executive history like never before! GET YOURS TODAY!
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George Sedgwick, 1851-1853, Whig
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Edwin R. Tremain, 1853-1855, Whig
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James Kingsley, 1855-1856, Democrat
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William Sumner Maynard, 1856-1858, 1865-1866
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Philip Bach, 1858-1859, Republican
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Robert J. Barry, 1859-1861, Republican
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John F. Miller, 1861-1862, Democrat
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Charles Spoor, 1862-1863
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Ebenezer Wells, 1863-1865, Democrat
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Oliver M. Martin, 1866-1868, Republican
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Christian Eberbach, 1868-1869, Republican
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Alfred H. Partridge, 1869-1870
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William D. Harriman, 1870-1871 & 1883-1885, Democrat
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Silas H. Douglass, 1871-1873
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Hiram J. Beakes, 1873-1875, Democrat
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Edward D. Kinne, 1875-1877, Republican
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Densmore Cramer, 1877-1878, Democrat
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Willard B. Smith, 1878-1880 & 1887-1888, Republican
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John Kapp, 1880-1883 & 1885-1886, Democrat
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John Robison, 1886-1887, Democrat
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Samuel W. Beakes, 1888-1890, Democrat
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Charles H. Manly, 1890-1891, Democrat
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William G. Doty, 1891-1893, Democrat
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Bradley M. Thompson, 1893-1894, Democrat
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Cyrenus G. Darling, 1894-1895, Republican
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| In March 1895, the term of office of mayor and president of Council was extended to two years. | |
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Warren E. Walker, 1895-1897, Republican
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Charles E. Hiscock, 1897-1899, Republican
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Gottlob Luick, 1899-1901, Democrat
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Royal S. Copeland, 1901-1903, Republican as Mayor
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Arthur Brown, 1903-1905, Democrat
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Francis M. Hamilton, 1905-1907, Republican
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James C. Henderson, 1907-1909, Democrat
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William L. Walz, 1909-1913, Democrat
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Dr. R.G. MacKenzie, 1913-15, Republican
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Charles A. Sauer, April - December, 1915, Republican
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Ernst M. Wurster, Acting Mayor 1915-1917 & Mayor 1917-1921, Democrat
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George E. Lewis, 1921-1925, Republican
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Robert A. Campbell, 1925-1927 & 1933-37, Republican
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Edward W. Staebler, 1927-1931, Democrat
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H. Wirt Newkirk, 1931-1933, Republican
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Walter C. Sadler, 1937-1941, Republican
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Leigh J. Young, 1941-1945, Republican
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William E. Brown Jr., 1945-1957, Republican
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Samuel J. Eldersveld, 1957-1959, Democrat
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Cecil O. Creal, 1959-1965, Republican
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Wendell E. Hulcher, 1965-1969, Republican
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Robert J. Harris, 1969-1973, Democrat
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James E. Stephenson, 1973-1975, Republican
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Albert H. Wheeler, 1975-1978, Democrat
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Louis D. Belcher, 1978-85, Republican
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Edward C. Pierce, 1985-87, Democrat
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Gerald D. Jernigan, 1987-1991, Republican
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Elizabeth S. Brater, 1991-1993, Democrat
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Ingrid B. Sheldon, 1993-2000, Republican
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John Hieftje, 2000-2014, Democrat
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Christopher Taylor, 2014-Present, Democrat
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| Approved by City voters in November 2016, and effective with the mayoral election of November 2018, the term of office of mayor was extended to four years. | |
