The post of Mayor of Jackson, Mississippi, was begun in 1834 and was originally referred to as "President of Selectmen" before being changed to "Mayor". Harvey Johnson Jr. elected in 1997 became the city's first black mayor. All of the mayors since have also been African American. The following individuals have held the office:
President of Selectmen
| Image | President of Selectmen | Years | Notes/Citation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thomas H. Dickson | 1834 | ||
| S.P. Baley | 1835 | ||
| Thomas H. Dickson | 1836 | ||
| S.P. Baley | 1836 | ||
| John P. Oldham | 1837–1838 |
Mayors
| Image | Mayor | Years | Notes/Citation |
|---|---|---|---|
| John P. Oldham | 1839 | ||
| H.R. McDonald | 1840 | ||
| John P. Oldham (2nd term) | 1840–1841 | ||
| James H. Boyd | 1842–1843 | ||
| John P. Oldham (3rd term) | 1844–1849 | ||
| James H. Boyd | 1850 | ||
| J.P. Jones | 1851 | ||
| William H. Taylor | 1852–1853 | ||
| Richard Fletcher | 1854 | ||
| William H. Taylor | 1855–1857 | ||
| James H. Boyd (2nd term) | 1858 | ||
| W.A. Purdom | 1859 | ||
| Richard C. Kerr | 1860–1861 | ||
| Charles Henry Manship | 1862–1863 | ||
| D.N. Barrows | 1864–1867 | ||
| Maj. Thomas H. Norton | 1868 | Union officer appointed as mayor1 | |
| Bvt. Lt. Col. James Biddle | 1868 | Union officer appointed as mayor | |
| Col. James P. Sessions (J. P. Sessions) | 1868–1869 | Native of Natchez, Mississippi, former Confederate officer, died April 3, 18862 | |
| Rhesa Hatcher | 1869 | 3 | |
| Bvt. Lt. Col. Joseph G. Crane | 1869 | Union officer appointed as mayor; stabbed to death by Edward M. Yerger, a former Confederate officer | |
| Captain F.A. Field | 1869 | Union officer appointed as mayor | |
| A. Way Kelly | 1869 | ||
| E. W. Cabaniss | 1869–18704 | ||
| Oliver Clifton | 1870–1871 | ||
| Rhesa Hatcher (2nd term) | 1871–1872 | ||
| Marion Smith | 1872–1874 | ||
| John McGill | 1874–1888 | ||
| William Henry | 1888–1893 | ||
| L.F. Chiles | 1893–1895 | He served as Assistant Secretary of the Mississippi Senate5 He was also a deputy sheriff, alderman, and secretary of the Mississippi Fair Association. Testimony was given he proposed taking Charlie Morgan down to the swamp and tying him to a tree with someone posted to watch him until after an election because he was a leader of "negroes"6 | |
| Oliver Clifton (2nd term) | 1895–1897 | ||
| Ramsey Wharton | 1897–1899 | ||
| H.M. Taylor | 1899 | ||
| W.W. Morrison | 1899 | Mayor Pro Tem | |
| John W. Todd | 1899–1901 | ||
| William Hemingway | 1901–1905 | ||
| Oliver Clifton (3rd term) | 1905 | died before taking office | |
| Ramsey Wharton (2nd term) | 1905–1909 | ||
| A.C. Crowder | 1909–1913 | ||
| S.J. Taylor | 1913–1917 | ||
| Walter A. Scott | 1917–1945 | ||
| Leland L. Speed | 1945–1949 | ||
| Allen C. Thompson | 1949–1969 | ||
| Russell C. Davis | 1969–1977 | ||
| Dale Danks | 1977–1989 | ||
| J. Kane Ditto | 1989–1997 | ||
| Harvey Johnson, Jr. | 1997–2005 | first African American Mayor of Jackson | |
| Frank Melton | 2005–2009 | died in office | |
| Leslie B. McLemore | 2009 | interim mayor | |
| Harvey Johnson Jr. (2nd term) | 2009–2013 | ||
| Chokwe Lumumba | 2013–2014 | died in office | |
| Charles Tillman | 2014 | ||
| Tony Yarber | 2014–2017 | ||
| Chokwe Antar Lumumba | 2017–present | 7 | |
| 75px | John Horhn | Taking office | 8 |
See also
Additional sources
- Brinson, Carroll. Jackson/A Special Kind of Place. Jackson, MS: City of Jackson, 1977. LCCN 77-081145.
External links
- Jackson, MS Mayor's Office - official website
References
"history comes to life". Wheeling News-Register. September 18, 2015. Five characters date from the Civil War era. Glenn Elliott will portray Maj. Thomas H. Norton, decorated Union soldier and later the military mayor of Jackson, Miss., during Reconstruction. https://www.theintelligencer.net/life/out-about/2015/09/history-comes-to-life/ ↩
"Death of Col. Jas. P. Sessions". The Clarion-Ledger. April 7, 1886 – via Newspapers.com. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/109412447/the-clarion-ledger/ ↩
J. Bomar Harris, ed. (1890). Charter of the City of Jackson, and Revised Ordinances of 1890: Together with Certain Miscellaneous Matters Pertaining to the City. Jackson, Mississippi: Clarion-Ledger Printing Establishment. https://books.google.com/books?id=BkpEAQAAMAAJ&dq=Rhesa+Hatcher+1869&pg=PA141 ↩
J. Bomar Harris, ed. (1890). Charter of the City of Jackson, and Revised Ordinances of 1890: Together with Certain Miscellaneous Matters Pertaining to the City. Jackson, Mississippi: Clarion-Ledger Printing Establishment. https://books.google.com/books?id=BkpEAQAAMAAJ&dq=%22cabaniss%22+%C2%A01869%C2%A0&pg=PA141 ↩
Senate, Mississippi. Legislature (1902). "Journal". https://books.google.com/books?id=o-hKAAAAMAAJ&dq=l.+f.+chiles.jackson+mississippi&pg=PA479 ↩
"Digest of Contested-election Cases in the Fifty-first Congress". 1891. https://books.google.com/books?id=6gFE568uMbAC&dq=l.+f.+chiles.jackson+mississippi&pg=PA794 ↩
"Chokwe Antar Lumumba sworn in as Jackson mayor". July 3, 2017. http://www.wapt.com/article/lumumba-to-take-oath-of-office/10253701 ↩
Drape, Charlie (June 4, 2025). "State Sen. John Horhn is Jackson's next mayor, with dominating win". Clarion Ledger. Retrieved June 5, 2025. https://www.clarionledger.com/story/news/local/2025/06/03/2025-election-results-for-jackson-ms-mayor-john-horhn-claims-victory/83987753007/ ↩