Page:Portland, Oregon, its History and Builders volume 1.djvu/468



CHAPTER XVIII.

1851 — 1910.

The City Government — The Charters — The Succession of Mayors — The Present Organization — The Public Utilities — Development of the City.

The city of Portland was incorporated in the year 1851, with a charter pro- viding a city government composed of a mayor, recorder, treasurer and marshal, and a council of nine members. But for the years 1851 and 1852, there were only five councilmen elected.

The first officers of the city were: Mayor, Hugh D. O'Bryant; recorder, W, S. Caldwell ; councilmen, Robert Thompson, Shubrick Norris, George A. Barnes, Thomas G. Robinson and L. B. Hastings.

In November, 1852, a new election was held at which S. B. Marye was elected mayor, C. B. Pillow recorder, with Councilmen Shubrick Norris, Thomas Pritch- ard, Josiah Failing, P. A. Marquam and A. P. Dennison.

And not until the election in 1853 were all the offices filled, and the city gov- ernment fully organized. In that year Josiah Failing was elected mayor; A. C. Bonnell recorder, S. S. Slater assessor, W. H. Barnhart treasurer, William Grooms, marshal; with Robert Thompson, W. S. Ladd, John H. Couch, W. P. Abrams, R. N. McLaren, R. N. Field, Charles B. Pillow, H. W. Davis and Jonas Williams for councilmen.

The mayors of the city after that were: W. S. Ladd, 1854; George W. Vaughn, 1855; James O'Neill, 1856 and 1857; L. M. Starr, 1858; S. J. McCor- mick, 1859; George C. Robbins, i860; J. M. Breck, 1861 ; W. H. Farrar, 1862 and 1863, David Logan, for 1863 and 4, Henry Failing for 1864 and 5, and 1865 and 6, Thos. J. Holmes, for 1866 and 7, Dr. J. A. Chapman, for 1867 and 8, Hamilton Boyd for 1868 and 9, Bernard Goldsmith for 1869 and 70, and for 1870 and 71, Philip Wasserman for 1871, 72 and 3, Henry Failing for 1873 and 4, and 5, Dr. J. A. Chapman for 1875 and 6 and for 1876 and 7, W. S. Newberry for 1877 and 8, and for 1878 and 9, D. P. Thompson for 1879 and 80, and for 1880 and 81, and 1881 and 82 ; Dr. J. A. Chapman for 1882 and 3 and 1883 and 4, and for 1884 and 5 ; John Gates for 1885 and 6 and for 1886 and 7, and for 1887 and 8, and died in office; Van B. De Lashmutt 1888 and 9, W. S. Mason, 1889 and 90, George P. Frank, 1894 first mayor in new city hall. Sylvester Pennoyer, 1896, W. S. Mason, 1898 and died in office, and W. A. Story, a member of the council, was elected to fill out Mason's term, and for 1900 Harry S. Rowe was elected mayor, George H. Williams for 1902, Dr. Hary Lane for 1902 to 1905, Joseph Simon the present incumbent elected in 1909.

Since the city was first incorporated, the charter has been amended nearly every session of the legislature since i860, and no less than five entirely new