List of mayors of Cape Girardeau, Missouri

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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.

List of Mayors[edit]

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

Mayor Took office Left office Additional information
E. Mason 1843 1844
George Washington Juden, Sr.
  • (1805-1844)
 1844 1844 First elected mayor.[4]
E. Mason 1844[4] 1846 2nd term (He previously served as mayor, 1843–1844.)
Thomas Johnston
  • (1804-after 1870)[5]
 1846 1849 Some sources spell his name as Johnson.
Dr. Patrick Henry Davis
  • (1803-1852)
 1849 1851 He 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]
 1851 1852 During the Civil War, this bank president moved his family to Memphis where he remained after the war.[7]
Thomas Baldwin 1852 1853
John C. Watson 1853 1854 Captain Watson was a Mississippi River boat pilot for 24 years.[8]
Amasa Alton
  • (1810-1855)
 1854 1855
C. T. Gale 1855 1857
John Ivers, Jr.
  • (1824-1885)
 1857 1860
John Albert 1860 1862 Cape Girardeau County sheriff, 1870-1878[9] In 1860, he helped to create the city fire department.[10]
George H. Cramer 1862 1867 Son 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)
 1867 1873 The Colonel George C. Thilenius House is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Edward D. Engelmann
  • (1830-1898)
 1873 1877 He 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 1877 1879 He 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 1879 1886 2nd term (He previously served as mayor, 1862–1867.)
Leon Joseph Albert
  • (1840-1912)
 1886 1891 2nd term (He previously served as mayor, 1877–1879.)
Harlan P. Pieronnet 1891 1895
William H. Coerver 1895 1901 He 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. Porterfield 1901 1903
Rodney Gayso Whitelaw
  • (1859-1922)
 1903 1905 He may be related to former congressman and Cape Girardeau County prosecuting attorney Robert Henry Whitelaw (1854-1937).[13]
William H. Coerver 1905 1907 2nd term (He previously served as mayor, 1895–1901.)
Dr. Warren C. Patton 1907 1909
Merit E. Leming
  • (1862-1938)
 1909 1911 After 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 1911 1917 Cape Girardeau County sheriff, 1882-1886[9] He served in city and county government for 63 years.[24]
William Hirsch
  • (1866-1939)
 1917 1918 Born 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)
 1918 1922 First 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)
 1922 1930
Edward L. Drum
  • (1875-1955)
 1930 1936 Cape Girardeau County prosecuting attorney, 1937[13]
Charles G. Wilson 1936 1938
Edward L. Drum
  • (1875-1955)
 1938 1940 2nd term (He previously served as mayor, 1930–1936.)
W. Hinkle Statler 1940 1942 Elected 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)
 1948 1952 He was given the nickname "Doc" as his father was a Gordonville doctor.[31]
Manning P. Greer 1952 1954
Narvol A. Randol 1954 1956 He 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)
 1956 1964 2nd term (He previously served as mayor, 1948–1952.)
Waddy Elmo Davis
  • (1903-1992)
 1964 1965
Charles A. Hood 1965 1966 In 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 Fischer 1966 1967 Cape Girardeau city manager, 1988–1995.[35]
James Hugh Logan 1967 1968 First 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 Price 1968 1969
Ivan L. Irvin 1969 1970 He served on the Missouri Real Estate Commission, 1987 to 1992.[38]
Howard C. Tooke
  • (1918-2006)
 1970 1978
Paul W. Stehr
  • (1936-2023)
 1978 1981 Stehr 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)
 1981 1986 2nd term (He previously served as mayor, 1970–1978.)
Francis E. "Gene" Rhodes
  • (1926-2014)
 1986 1994 In 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] 1994 2002 Son of Missouri state senator Albert Spradling, Jr.
Jay Knudtson 2002 2010 Banker and Southeast Missouri State University Board of Regents member (2011-2018).[45]
Harry Rediger 2010 2018 Former manager of the J. C. Penney in Cape Girardeau. Many years on the United Way Board of Directors.[46][47]
Bob Fox 2018 2022 Former city councilman of Cape Girardeau
Stacy Blakeslee Kinder 2022 - First female mayor of Cape Girardeau, former councilwoman, and former member of the Cape Girardeau School Board[48]

Notable city managers for Cape Girardeau[edit]

City managers[49] Took office Left office Additional information
Paul F. Frederick 1966 1970 First Cape Girardeau city manager. He was from Minot, North Dakota.
W. G. Lawley 1970 1980
Paul Stehr 1981 1981 Acting city manager. Mayor of Cape Girardeau, 1978–81.
Gary A. Eide 1981 1987
J. Ronald Fischer 1988 1995 Mayor of Cape Girardeau, 1966–1967.
Michael G. Miller 1995 2003 Died in 2017.[50]
Doug Leslie 2003 2009
Scott A. Meyer[51] 2009 2020 Former director of facilities management at Southeast Missouri State University.
Kenneth Haskin 2021 present City manager of Texarkana, Texas, from 2013 until 2021, and Texarkana's assistant city manager and director of economic development from 2008 until 2013.[52]

Notable members of the Cape Girardeau city council[edit]

  • 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.[53]
  • 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), first black Cape Girardeau city council member was elected in 1994.[54]

Key[edit]

Key to party colors and abbreviations for members of the U.S. Congress and other politicians or officials
Alaskan Independence (AKIP)
American (Know Nothing) (KN)
American Labor (AL)
Anti-Jacksonian (Anti-J)
National Republican (NR)
Anti-Administration (AA)
Anti-Masonic (Anti-M)
Conservative (Con)
Democratic (D)
Democratic–Farmer–Labor (DFL)
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)
Democratic–Nonpartisan
League (D-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)
Unionist (U)
Unconditional Unionist (UU)
Vermont Progressive (VP)
Whig (W)
Independent (I)
Nonpartisan (NP)

References[edit]

  • Missouri Secretary of State official manuals
  1. ^ "Local News: Cape Girardeau mayors since 1843". Southeast Missourian. Cape Girardeau, Missouri. November 1, 2009.
  2. ^ a b 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 2014-10-26.
  4. ^ a b "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 2014-10-27.
  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. ^ a b c "National Register of Historic Places: Old Lorimier Cemetery" (PDF). Retrieved 2014-10-25.
  9. ^ a b "History of the Sheriff". Retrieved 2014-10-26.
  10. ^ "Cape Girardeau Fire Department: Established 1866". Retrieved 2022-05-27.
  11. ^ a b "Missouri Birth and Death Records Database". Retrieved 2014-10-25.
  12. ^ "History of Southeast Missouri: A Narrative Account of its Historical Progress, Its People and its Principal Interests". Retrieved 2014-10-26.
  13. ^ a b c "History of the Prosecutor's Office". Retrieved 2014-10-26.
  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. ^ a b "Biographies: Cape Girardeau County Missouri Genealogy Trails". Retrieved 2014-10-26.
  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 2014-10-27.
  18. ^ a b "Leming Scrapbook, A Red-Letter Year for 1967-1968". Retrieved 2014-10-27.
  19. ^ "Pieronnet death certificate" (PDF). Retrieved 2014-10-26.
  20. ^ "Old Lorimier Cemetery" (PDF). Retrieved 2014-10-26.
  21. ^ "On Broadway" (PDF). Retrieved 2014-10-26.
  22. ^ "Warren C. Patton death certificate" (PDF). Retrieved 2014-10-26.
  23. ^ "Leming Hall Falls Victim to University Progress". Southeast Missourian. Cape Girardeau, Missouri. October 12, 1972.
  24. ^ a b "F. A. Kage, Former Cape Mayor, Dies". Southeast Missouri. Cape Girardeau, Missouri. October 6, 1932.
  25. ^ "William Hirsch death certificate" (PDF). Retrieved 2014-10-26.
  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. ^ a b "Community leader Randol dead at 83". Southeast Missourian. Cape Girardeau, Missouri. August 29, 1999.
  33. ^ "A century of commerce (Part 1, 1904-1990)". Retrieved 2014-10-26.
  34. ^ "Themis Turns A Thousand Tales" (PDF). Retrieved 2014-10-26.
  35. ^ a b "Former Cape Girardeau city managers". Retrieved 2014-10-27.
  36. ^ "SoutheastHEALTH Scholarship Opportunities". Archived from the original on 2014-10-26. Retrieved 2014-10-26.
  37. ^ "Meet our Board of Directors". Retrieved 2014-10-26.
  38. ^ a b "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 2023-09-05.
  40. ^ "Capital Insurance and Associates". Retrieved 2014-10-26.
  41. ^ "A Short History of our flagship brand -- Rhodes 101 Stops". Archived from the original on 2014-10-27. Retrieved 2014-10-27.
  42. ^ "Former Cape Girardeau mayor, Rhodes 101 founder dies". 2014-12-16. Retrieved 2014-12-20.
  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 2014-10-26.
  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 2016-06-30.
  48. ^ "Cape Girardeau Mayor-Elect Stacy Kinder shares her plans for the city". Retrieved 2022-04-19.
  49. ^ "Former Cape Girardeau city managers". Retrieved 2017-07-13.
  50. ^ "Former Cape Girardeau city manager Michael Miller dies". Retrieved 2017-07-13.
  51. ^ "Cape Girardeau hires Scott Meyer as city manager". Retrieved 2017-07-13.
  52. ^ "Incoming Cape city manager's accomplishments detailed". Retrieved 2021-04-20.
  53. ^ "David Limbaugh biography". Retrieved 2022-05-27.
  54. ^ "Sikeston native, first Black Cape Girardeau city council member, dies". Retrieved 2022-05-27.
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