City of Knoxville - Mayors of Knoxville

CITY OF KNOXVILLE MAYORS

View Mayors' Portrait Gallery Brochure [PDF]

Portraits of most of the previous Mayors of Knoxville have been gathered together for viewing enjoyment in the atrium on the 5th floor of the City County Building. The city's first Mayor Thomas Emmerson is available on display in the Mayor's Office on the 6th floor Suite 691.

Numbers in parenthesis are (year of birth - year of death)

2004-Current
Bill Haslam
(1958- ---- )

Served as president and director of Pilot Corp. Former chief executive officer of SAKS Direct, the e-commerce and catalogue division of Saks Fifth Avenue. Owner of the Tennessee Smokies East Tennessee AA Baseball Team and serves on the board of directors for Harold's Department Stores.

1988-2003
Victor Ashe
(1945- ---- )

State Representative 1968-1974; State Senator 1975-1984; City of Knoxville Mayor 1988-2003; U.S. Ambassador to Poland 2004-2009; nominated by President Obama to the Broadcasting Board of Governors on November 20, 2009

1984-1987
Kyle C. Testerman
(1935- ---- )

Lawyer and businessman; elected member of City Council; born in Knoxville; also served as Mayor 1972-1975

1976-1983
Randall Tyree
(1940- ---- )

Lawyer; born in Carthage; Mayor during the 1982 World's Fair

1972-1975
Kyle C. Testerman
(1935- ---- )

Lawyer and businessman; elected member of City Council; born in Knoxville; also served as Mayor 1984-1987

1965-1971
Leonard R. Rogers
(1912-1996)

Executive Director of Tennessee Valley Fair; born in Shelby County

1964
Robert L. Crossley
(1928-2006 )

Lawyer, partner in the law firm of Baker, Worthington, Crossley, Stansberry & Woolf; born in Cleveland, Ohio; City of Knoxville Law Director; Acting Mayor for Dec. 1964 (shortest term of all Mayors)

1959-1964
John J. Duncan
(1919-1988)

Lawyer; U.S. Representative; born in Scott County; resigned from office Dec. 1, 1964 when elected to Congress

1959
Cas Walker
(1903-1998)

Grocery store owner; born in Sevier County; served as Acting Mayor April 1959; also served as Mayor in 1946

1956-1959
Jack W. Dance
(1897-1959)

County official; Republican party leader; born in Knoxville; died in office Mar. 12, 1959

1952-1955
George R. Dempster
(1887-1964)

Industrialist; inventor (Dempster Dumpster); City Manager; Democratic party leader; humanitarian; born in Knoxville

1948-1951
James W. Elmore, Jr.
(1906-1983)

Businessman; born in Knoxville; son of Mayor James W. Elmore

1946-1947
Edward L. Chavannes
(1907-1990)

Lumber business owner; born in Knoxville

1946
Cas Walker
(1903-1998)

Grocery store owner; born in Sevier County; Recalled Dec. 3, 1946; also served as Acting Mayor 1959

1944-1945
E. E. Patton
(1874-1961)

Educator and legislator; born in Carter County

1942-1943
Fred R. Stair
(1892-1972)

Lumber company executive; City School Board member for 12 years; founder of Stair Technical School (now Fulton High School); born in Knoxville

1940-1941
Fred L. Allen
(1866-1957)

Standard Oil businessman; born in Alabama

1938-1939
Walter W. Mynatt
(1898-1979)

Public Service official; born in Knoxville

1936-1937
James W. Elmore
(1876-1938)

Businessman; born in Knoxville

1932-1935
John T. O'Connor
(1881-1968)

Machinist; business leader; City Welfare Director; born in Knoxville

1930-1931
James A. Trent
(1885-1974)

Printing business owner; born in Knox County

1928-1929
James A. Fowler
(1863-1955)

Lawyer; U.S. Assistant Attorney General; born in Knox County

1924-1927
Ben A. Morton
(1875-1952)

Grocery jobber; capitalist; civic leader; born in Blount County

1920-1923
E. W. Neal
(1867-1941)

Businessman; born in Ohio

1916-1919
J. E. McMillan
(1868-1926)

Born in Knoxville

1912
S. E. Hill
(1871-1940)

Born in Union County, Tennessee; educator and businessman; Acting Mayor 1912

1910-1915
Samuel G. Heiskell
(1858-1923)

Lawyer, historian, State Representative; born in Monroe County; also served as Mayor 1896-97, 1900-01, and 1906-07

1908-1909
Capt. John M. Brooks
(1840-1921)

One of the most highly esteemed citizens of Knoxville; veteran of the Confederate Army; Insurance business; elected mayor in 1908 and gave two years of excellent service to the city; buried at Old Gray Cemetery

1906-1907
Samuel G. Heiskell
(1858-1923)

Lawyer, historian, State Representative; born in Monroe County; also served as Mayor 1896-97, 1900-01, and 1910-15

1904-1905
William H. Gass
( unknown )

Cashier of Knoxville Banking Company

1904
John Paul Murphy
(1857-1925)

Lawyer, state legis lator; born in Bulls Gap; served on the Knoxville Board of Aldermen for 26 years; served as Acting mayor in 1904

1902-1903
Joseph T. McTeer
(1840-1904)

Established the business of McTeer, Payne, Burger & Hood in 1876

1900-1901
Samuel G. Heiskell
(1858-1923)

Lawyer, historian, State Representative; born in Monroe County; also served as Mayor 1896-97, 1906-07, and 1910-15

1898 -1899
William Rule
(1839-1928)

1873 Civil War officer, postmaster, editor of the Knoxville Journal and Tribune; born in Knox County; also served as Mayor 1873

1896-1897
Samuel G. Heiskell
(1858-1923)

Lawyer, historian, State Representative; born in Monroe County; also served as Mayor 1900-01, 1906-07, and 1910-15

1892-1895
M. E. Thompson
(unknown -1906)

Built the Palace Hotel; livery stable owner; realtor

1890-1891
Peter Kern
(1835-1907)

Civil War soldier; businessman (Kern's Bread); born near Heidelberg, Germany

1888-1889
Martin J. Condon
(1857- unknown )

Wholesale grocery businessman; born in Hawkins County

1885-1887
James C. Luttrell, Jr.
(1841-1914)

Civil War officer; hardware merchant; born in Knoxville; son of Mayor James Churchwell Luttrell

1883-1884
William C. Fulcher
(1850-1926)

Building contractor; realtor; born near Abingdon, VA

1882
Reuben S. Payne *
(1844-1896)

Born in Davidson County, TN. Enlisted in the 2nd Tennessee Infantry at the beginning of the war and served until its end; became a hat merchant, first in New York City, then Knoxville; elected president of the East Tennessee National Bank in 1884

1881-1882
Peter Staub
(1827-1904)

United States Consul to Switzerland; tailor; builder of Staub's Theater; born in Switzerland; also served as Mayor 1874-75

1880
H. Bryan Branner
(1851-1938)

Textile mills owner; official of Standard Knitting Mills; born in Georgia

1879
Samuel B. Luttrell
(1844-1933)

Hardware merchant; born in Knoxville; son of Mayor James Luttrell and grandson of Mayor Samuel Bell

1878
Joseph Jaques
(1825-1883)

Industrialist; bank president; born in England; also served as Mayor 1858

1876 - 1877
Daniel A. Carpenter
(1837-1918)

Businessman; born in Kentucky

1874-1875
Peter Staub
(1827-1904)

United States Consul to Switzerland; tailor; builder of Staub's Theater; born in Switzerland; also served as Mayor 1881-82

1873
William Rule
(1839-1928)

Civil War officer; postmaster; editor of the Knoxville Journal and Tribune; born in Knox County; also served as Mayor 1898-99

1870-1872
John S. Van Gilder
(1825-1902)

Manufacturer; banker; born in New Jersey

1868-1869
Marcus D. Bearden *
(1830-1885)

Civil War officer; sheriff; mayor; representative; Bearden, in West Knoxville, was named in his honor.

1859-1867
James C. Luttrell
(1813-1878)

State official; postmaster; born in Knox County; his two sons were both mayors; also served as Mayor 1854

1858
A. M. Piper
(1820-1873)

Merchant; born in Greene County; one of the five mayors in 1858

1858
Charles J. McClung
(1826-1908)

Merchant, founding partner of Cowan, McClung & Co.; civic leader; never really served as mayor; according to Board of Alderman minutes for 1858, he was elected by the Board on May 6, but declined the office - A.M. Piper, another alderman, was elected mayor May 20 and served the remaining year; one of the five mayors in 1858

1858
James M. White *
( unknown )

City Alderman in 1857; served as mayor from January 9 to April 8, 1858 when he resigned; one of the five mayors in 1858

1858
Joseph Jaques
(1825-1883)

Industrialist and bank president; born in England; one of the five mayors in 1858; also served as Mayor 1878

1858
James H. Cowan
(1801-1871)

Merchant; born in Knoxville; one of the five mayors in 1858; also served as Mayor 1856

1857
Thomas J. Powell *
(1821-1900)

Merchant; owner of a dry goods store on Gay St. Mayor August 1857 to January 1858.

1857
Samuel A. White *
(1825-1860)

The fourth son of Hugh Lawson White and the grandson of James White, the founder of Knoxville; his full name was Samuel Davies Carrick White. Mayor from January 1857 to August 1857.

1856
James H. Cowan
(1801-1871)

Merchant; born in Knoxville; one of the five mayors in 1858; also served as Mayor 1858. Mayor from November 1856 to January 1857.

1855-1856
Willliam G. Swann *
(1821-1869)

Lawyer; circuit judge; Confederate congressman; Tennessee Attorney General; latter part of June 1855, first train came to Knoxville - Mayor was on hand to greet; along with Joseph Mabry, gave lot for Market Square

1854
James C. Luttrell
(1813-1878)

State official; postmaster; born in Knox County; his two sons were both mayors; also served as Mayor 1859-67

1852-1853
George M. White
(1800-1884)

Sheriff, county and circuit court judge and register; born in Knoxville; grandson of this city's founder, James White

1847-1851
Samuel B. Boyd *
(1806-1855)

Lawyer; judge; occupant of Blount Mansion after 1844

1846
Joseph L. King *
(1810-unknown)

One of the organizers of Knoxville and Charleston Railroad Co. in 1852

1844-1845
Samuel Bell *
(1798-1882)

Silversmith; jeweler; born in Washington County, Pennsylvania; at age 14 worked in arms factory making swords for use in War of 1812; made a pair of handsome silver spurs for Gen. Sam Houston who wore them at the battle of San Jacinto; also served as Mayor 1840-41

1843
Matthew M. Gaines *
(1807-1893)

Knoxville merchant; served as alderman in 1840, 1841, 1842; his granddaughter, Mary Gaines, in 1893 laid the first brick in the sand on Gay Street near Main - she was accorded the honor as the granddaughter of oldest living ex-mayor

1842
Gideon M. Hazen *
(1810-1880)

Merchant; businessman; large landholder; builder of "Middlebrook," the house that provided the name for Middlebrook Pike; he established the paper mill on Middlebrook Pike from which Paper Mill Road took its name

1840-1841
Samuel Bell *
(1798-1882)

Silversmith; jeweler; born in Washington County, Pennsylvania; at age 14 worked in arms factory making swords for use in War of 1812; made a pair of handsome silver spurs for Gen. Sam Houston who wore them at the battle of San Jacinto; also served as Mayor 1844-45

1838-1839
W. B. A. Ramsey *
(1799-1874)

Born at Swan Pond (Ramsey House); lawyer; built a steamboat called Knoxville; owned the Knoxville Register; Secretary of State for Tennessee

1837-1838
James King
(1787-1838)

Born in Montgomery County, Va.; set up medical practice in Knoxville in 1812; was a prosperous merchant; owned two steamboats, bringing groceries from New Orleans for his business at the corner of Gay and Church

1835-1836
William C. Mynatt
(1787-1837)

Aid-de-camp to General Cocke, War of 1812; hotel keeper, Mynatt's Hotel on the site of the present 1835-36 Knox County courthouse; also served as Mayor 1822-23 and 1827

1835
Frederick S. Heiskell
(1786-1882)

Published Knoxville Register; journalist; farmer; born in Hagerstown, Maryland

1834-1835
Solomon D. Jacobs *
(1795-unknown)

Merchant; railroad president; mayor; served in state legislature 1839-41

1832-1834
Donald McIntosh
(1797-1837)

Born in Inverness, Scotland; graduated in medicine at the University of Edinburgh; came to U.S. around 1818; a popular physician in Knoxville; died in the yellow fever epidemic in 1837

1828-1831
Joseph C. Strong
(1775-1844)

Physician; surgeon; civic leader; born in Bolton, Conn.; was a great economist; his residence was built by the architect, Thomas Hope

1827
William C. Mynatt
(1787-1837)

Aid-de-camp to General Cocke, War of 1812; hotel keeper, Mynatt's Hotel on the site of the present 1835-36 Knox County courthouse; also served as Mayor 1822-23 and 1835-36

1824-1826
James Park
(1770-1853)

Born in Ireland; came to U.S. in 1796 and Knoxville in 1798; in the Mercantile business; built one of 1st homes (was at one time the Knoxville Academy of Medicine, Cumberland Ave.) and Andrew Jackson entertained there; also served as Mayor 1818-21

1822-1823
William C. Mynatt
(1787-1837)

Aid-de-camp to General Cocke, War of 1812; hotel keeper, Mynatt's Hotel on the site of the present 1835-36 Knox County courthouse; also served as Mayor 1827 and 1835-36

1818-1821
James Park *
(1770-1853)

Born in Ireland; came to U.S. in 1796 and Knoxville in 1798, in the Mercantile business; built one of 1st homes (was at one time the Knoxville Academy of Medicine, Cumberland Ave.) and Andrew Jackson entertained there; also served as Mayor 1824-26

1816-1817
Thomas Emmerson
(1772-1837)

First mayor of Knoxville; judge, editor; born at Lawrenceville, Brunswick County, VA.

Knoxville was incorporated, Oct. 27, 1815, by act of the state legislature

* There are no official portraits in the gallery for these Mayors. These are scans from the 1891 / 1892 Knoxville City Directory published by E. W. Crozier, 52 Church Street, southwest corner of Gay. The Knoxville City Directories are in the collection of the McClung Historical Collection of the Knox County Public Library.

Some above photos of paintings may show light glare distortions.