List of mayors of Durham, North Carolina

The Mayor of Durham is the chief executive of the government of the city of Durham, North Carolina. The current mayor is Leonardo Williams, who assumed office in 2023.

The first mayor of Durham was tobacco merchant J. W. Cheek who was elected in 1869, although the position was originally known as "magistrate of police" up until 1871, when the title was changed to "mayor" during the tenure of W. J. H. Durham. Mayoral elections were held yearly until 1895, when they were changed to be held every other year.

#	Portrait	Name	Term in office	Length of Service	Party affiliation		Previous office
1		J. W. Cheek	August 1869 – May 1, 1871	~1 year, 260 days
2		W. J. H. Durham	May 1, 1871 – September 18, 1871	141 days
Acting		R. F. Morris	September 18, 1871 – May 16, 1872	242 days
3		E. J. Parrish	May 16, 1872 – May 6, 1873	355 days
Acting		Julian Carr (1845 – 1924; aged 78)	May 6, 1873 – May 17, 1873	11 days
4		W. J. H. Durham	1873 – 1877	4 years			Mayor of Durham, North Carolina (1871)
5		Doctor Claiborn Parrish (1807 – 1883; aged 76)	1877 – 1880	3 years
6		Isaac Newton Link (Unknown – 1895)	1880 – 1881	1 year
7		Doctor Claiborn Parrish (1807 – 1883; aged 76)	1881 – 1882	1 year			Mayor of Durham, North Carolina (1877–1880)
8		Edward Carney Hackney (1856 – 1903; aged 46)	May 2, 1882 – May 8, 1883	1 year, 6 days
9		Doctor Claiborn Parrish (1807 – 1883; aged 76)	May 8, 1883 – July 1883 (Died in office)	~ 2 months			Mayor of Durham, North Carolina (1881–1882)
Acting		W. T. Lipscomb	August 7, 1883 – May 6, 1884	273 days
10		J. F. Freeland	May 6, 1884 – May 8, 1888	4 years, 2 days
11		W. J. Christian	May 8, 1888 – May 6, 1890	1 year, 363 days
12		M. A. Angier	May 6, 1890 – May 3, 1893	2 years, 363 days
13		T. L. Peay	May 3, 1893 – May 8, 1894	1 years, 5 days
14		Isaac Newton Link (Unknown – 1895)	May 8, 1894 – January 5, 1895 (Died in office)	242 days			Mayor of Durham, North Carolina (1880–1881)
Acting		J. W. Carlton	January 5, 1895 – May 7, 1895	122 days
15		T. L Peay	May 7, 1895 – May 1897	2 years			Mayor of Durham, North Carolina (1893–1894)
16		Moses Ellis McCown (1849 – 1925; aged 75)	unknown – 1903
17		J. F. Freeland	1903 – 1905	2 years			Mayor of Durham, North Carolina (1884–1888)
18		Paul Cameron Graham	1905 – 1909	4 years
19		W. J. Griswold	1909 – 1911	2 years			Durham City Council (1905 – 1907)
20		Willis J. Brogden	1911 – 1915	4 years
21		Benjamin S. Skinner	1915 – 1917	2 years			Durham City Council (1913 – 1915)
22		M. E. Newsom	1917 – 1921	4 years			Durham City Council (1913 – 1917)
23		John Moore Manning (1857 – 1933; aged ~76)	1921 – 1931	10 years			Durham City Council (1919 – 1921)
24		Delos Sorrell	1931 – 1933	2 years
25		William Frederick Carr (1881 – 1956; aged 75)	1933 – 1949	16 years			Durham City Council (1917 – 1933)
26		Dan Edwards (1914 – 2001; aged 87)	1949 – 1951	2 years			North Carolina Representative from Durham County (1947–1949)
27		Emanuel J. Evans (1907 – 1997; aged 89)	1951 – 1963	12 years		Democratic
28		Wense Grabarek (1919 – 2019; aged 100)	1963 – 1971	8 years		Democratic	Durham City Council (1957–1961)
29		James Hawkins (1925 – 2010; aged 85)	1971 – 1975	4 years			Durham City Council (1959–1967)
30		Wade Cavin (1916 – 1997; aged 81)	1975 – 1979	4 years			Durham City Council (1969–1975)
31		Harry E. Rodenhizer, Jr (1927 – 2007; aged 80)	1979 – 1981	2 years		Republican	Durham Public School Board
32		Charles Markham (1938 – 2010; aged 83)	1981 – 1985	4 years
33		Wib Gulley (born 1948; aged 73)	1985 – 1989	4 years		Democratic	Durham Board of Adjustment (1983–1985)
34		Chester L. Jenkins (c. 1938 – 2009; aged ~71)	1989 – 1991	2 years		Democratic	Durham City Council (1981–1989)
35		Harry E. Rodenhizer, Jr (1927 – 2007; aged 80)	1991 – 1993	2 years		Republican	Mayor of Durham, North Carolina (1979–1981)
36		Sylvia Kerckhoff (born 1926; aged 95)	1993 – 1997	4 years			Durham City Council
37		Nick Tennyson (born 1950; aged 71)	1997 – 2001	4 years		Republican
38		Bill Bell (born in 1941; aged 80)	2001 – December 5, 2017	16 years		Democratic	Durham County Board of Commissioners (1996–2000)
39		Steve Schewel (born in 1951; aged 70)	December 5, 2017 – December 6, 2021	4 years		Democratic	Durham City Council (2011–2017)
40		Elaine O'Neal	December 6, 2021 – December 4, 2023	2 Years		Democratic	North Carolina Superior Court (2011-2018)
41		Leonardo Williams	December 4, 2023			Democratic	Durham City Council (2021-2023)

External links

• Mangum's directory of Durham and suburbs [serial] : including East Durham, West Durham, North Durham, Trinity College, Brookstown, and Hayti : with valuable historical data : illustrated
• Durham County: A History of Durham County, North Carolina, p. 455-458, at Google Books