Tag Archives: City of Little Rock

Mother’s Day in Little Rock: Founding Mother Eliza Cunningham

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Eliza Wilson Bertrand Cunningham was the First Lady of Little Rock.  She literally was the first lady and the founding mother.

She became the first permanent female resident when she joined her husband Matthew Cunningham in Little Rock.  She gave birth to Chester Ashley Cunningham, the first baby born in Little Rock, as well as several other children with Cunningham.  When he became the first Mayor of Little Rock, she was the first First Lady of Little Rock. They hosted the first Little Rock Council meeting at their house on what is now the block downtown bounded by Third, Main, Fourth and Louisiana Streets.  Her son Charles P. Bertrand, from her first husband, later served as Mayor of Little Rock, making her the only woman to be married to a Mayor and be mother of a Mayor.

Born in Scotland in December 1788, she emigrated with her parents to the United States as a young girl.  In 1804 or 1805, she married a French businessman, Pierre Bertrand in New York City.  She lived in New York City, while he traveled to his various business ventures.  He never returned from a trip to his coffee plantation in Santo Domingo and was presumed to have died in 1808 or 1809.  She and Bertrand had three children, Charles Pierre, Arabella and Jane. (Jane may have died in childhood, because records and lore only indicated Charles and Arabella coming to Little Rock with their mother.)

Eliza married Dr. Matthew Cunningham in New York City.  He later moved to Saint Louis and settled in Little Rock in early 1820.  Eliza and her two children came to Little Rock in September 1820.  In 1822, she gave birth to Chester Ashley Cunningham, the first documented baby born in Little Rock.  (There are unsubstantiated reports that at least one slave child may have been born prior to Chester.)  She and Matthew also had Robert, Henrietta, Sarah and Matilda.  The latter married Peter Hanger, after whom the Hanger Hill neighborhood is named.

Dr. Cunningham died in June 1851.  Eliza died in September 1856. They and Chester (who died in December 1856) are buried in the Hanger family plot at Mount Holly Cemetery.

Little Rock Look Back: Mayoral Races without Incumbents

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The announcement by Little Rock’s 72nd Mayor, Mark Stodola, that he will not seek a fourth term in 2018, sent the Little Rock Culture Vulture thinking about past mayoral races in Little Rock history.

Election records in the 1800s are spotty at best, so this discussion focuses on those who have run for Mayor once the current City Hall opened in April 1908.

The November 2018 election will be only the sixth mayoral election since 1908 without an incumbent or former mayor on the ballot.  (Assuming that none of Little Rock’s living seven former mayors choose to run.)

The most recent election without a current or former mayor was in 2006, when Jim Dailey had announced he would not seek another term. It was at that election that former City Attorney Mark Stodola, faced off against two former City Directors (Barbara Graves and Jesse Mason) and former State Senator Bill Walker.

From 1908 through 1957, Little Rock elections were partisan in nature.  In most instances, if one won the Democratic Primary, one was assured of being mayor.  Looking back at municipal general election results (where there was usually only token opposition at best) in those decades does not give a true picture to the spirited nature of races for City Hall.

The first election since 1908 without an incumbent or former mayor was in 1911. Charles Taylor ran as a reforming outsider and won an open seat for mayor.  He would serve until 1919. That year, former alderman Ben Brickhouse won the open seat.

R. E. Overman was elected to his first term as mayor in 1935, after incumbent mayor Horace Knowlton did  not seek a third term.  After returning to City Hall in 1941 and being re-elected, Mayor Moyer retired a second time in 1945. In that election, Dan Sprick was elected mayor.  That would be the final election in Little Rock without an incumbent or former mayor until 2006.

From 1957 until 1994, the mayor was chosen every two years by members of the City Board of Directors from among their membership.  The last person to be selected in that manner, Jim Dailey, won city-wide election to the mayoral position in 1994 and served until 2006.

Here is a history of all the mayor races since 1908:

1908 Special – Incumbent acting mayor John Herndon Hollis did not seek election to full term.  Former Mayor W. R. Duley elected
1909 – Mayor Duley re-elected
1911 – Charles Taylor elected after Mayor Duley forgoes seeking another term.
1913 – Mayor Taylor re-elected
1915 – Mayor Taylor re-elected
1917 – Mayor Taylor re-elected
1919 – Ben D. Brickhouse elected after Mayor Taylor forgoes seeking another term.
1921 – Mayor Brickhouse re-elected
1923 – Mayor Brickhouse re-elected
1925 – Mayor Brickhouse loses Democratic Primary to County Judge Charles Moyer, who wins the general election.
1927 – Mayor Moyer re-elected
1929 – Mayor Moyer loses Democratic Primary to City Attorney Pat L. Robinson, who wins the general election.
1931 – Mayor Robinson loses Democratic Primary to Horace Knowlton, who wins the general election.
1933 – Mayor Knowlton re-elected
1935 – R. E. Overman elected after Mayor Knowlton forgoes another term.
1937 – Mayor Overman re-elected
1939 – J. V. Satterfield defeats Mayor Overman in the Democratic Primary. He subsequently wins general election.
1941 – Former mayor Moyer returns to City Hall after Mayor Satterfield opts to retire after one term.
1943 – Mayor Moyer is re-elected
1945 – Dan Sprick is elected after Mayor Moyer forgoes another term.
1947 – Sam Wassell defeats Mayor Sprick in the Democratic Primary, subsequently wins general election.
1949 – Mayor Wassell is re-elected
1951 – Republican Pratt Remmel defeats Democratic incumbent Sam Wassell in the general election to become mayor.
1953 – Mayor Remmel is re-elected.
1955 – Democratic nominee Woodrow Mann defeats GOP incumbent Mayor Remmel in the general election to become mayor.
1956 – Voters switch to City Manager form of government, partially in response to actions by Mayor Mann’s administration.  Mayor Mann leaves office in November 1957.

1957 to 1994 – City Manager form with mayor selected from among membership

1994 – Mayor Jim Dailey wins election as Little Rock’s first popularly elected mayor since 1957.  He had previously been selected mayor by his city board colleagues.
1998 – Mayor Dailey is re-elected
2002 – Mayor Dailey is re-elected
2006 – Mark Stodola is elected mayor after Mayor Dailey forgoes another term.
2010 – Mayor Stodola is re-elected
2014 – Mayor Stodola is re-elected
2018 – Mayor Stodola announces he will not seek another term.

Little Rock Look Back: Rabbi and longtime CALS Trustee Ira Sanders

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On May 6, 1894, Ira Eugene Sanders was born in Missouri.  After receiving an undergraduate degree and rabbinate degree in Cincinnati, he was ordained a rabbi in 1919.  He served congregations in Pennsylvania and New York before coming to Little Rock in September 1926.

Shortly after arriving to lead the B’nai Israel congregation, Rabbi Sanders became active in the Little Rock community.  Among his projects were the Little Rock Community Fund, Little Rock School of Social Work (which he founded), Central Council of Social Agencies, and University of Arkansas Extension Department. During the Great Depression, he helped organize the Pulaski County Public Welfare Commission.  Other areas of involvement over his career included the Arkansas Human Betterment League, Urban League of Greater Little Rock and Arkansas Lighthouse for the Blind.  On November 3, 1930, Rabbi Sanders debated Clarence Darrow about the existence of God in front of a packed house at Little Rock High School.

For his many involvements, he received an honorary Doctor of Humanities degree in 1951 from the University of Arkansas.  Three years later he received an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree from Hebrew Union College’s Jewish Institute of Religion.

A lifelong supporter of a Jewish state, he participated in nineteen bond drives for the state of Israel.  In August 1963, he retired as the leader of B’nai Israel after over 35 years. He would remain as Rabbi Emeritus until his deal in 1985.

In January 1978, Rabbi Sanders tendered his resignation from the Central Arkansas Library board of directors.  The City Board of Directors passed resolution 5873 which noted that he had served for 51 years on the Library Board. He was first appointed in 1926.  He served during 19 different Mayoral administrations from Charles Moyer’s first term through Donald Mehlburger’s.

On April 8, 1985, Rabbi Ira Eugene Sanders died of natural causes.  He is buried in the City’s Oakland Jewish Cemetery.  The Central Arkansas Library System honors his memory with an annual distinguished lecture series.

Little Rock Look Back: City of Little Rock formally establishes Museum of Fine Arts

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On May 6, 1935, the Little Rock City Council formally established the Museum of Fine Arts by Ordinance 5235.  The ordinance was sponsored by Alderman Henry G. Leiser.

The ordinance authorized the construction of the museum in City Park.  The money for the construction was all privately raised. Once the building was completed, it would become the property of the City.

The ordinance also created the museum’s board. The original members were named by the ordinance.  They were: Fred W. Allsopp (appointed as a life member), Mrs. Frederick Hanger, Mrs. F.B.T. Hollenberg, George B. Rose, Mrs. C.M. Taylor, Mrs. Frank Tillar, and Dr. Frank Vinsonhaler. In addition, the Mayor and President of the Fine Arts Club were ex-officio members.

The building would start construction in 1936. The groundbreaking was in January 1936, and the cornerstone was laid in October 1936. The Museum of Fine Arts opened in October 1937.

Little Rock Look Back: Lottie Holt Shackelford

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Lottie at Civil RightsWhile this headline may say “Little Rock Look Back,” Lottie Shackelford is still very much focused on the present and the future!

On April 30, 1941, future Little Rock Mayor Lottie Shackelford was born. Throughout her career in public service she has been a trailblazer.

Active in community activities and politics, she ran for the City Board in 1974 and lost.  But she was appointed to the Little Rock City Board in September 1978 to fill a vacancy.  This made her the first African American woman to serve on he City Board, and indeed on any governing board for the City (during Reconstruction, there were at least six African Americans on the City Council, but they were all men.) She was subsequently elected to a full-term on the City Board in 1980 winning 55% of the vote over three male candidates.

She was subsequently re-elected in 1984 (unopposed) and in 1988 (with 60% of the vote).

In January 1987, Shackelford became the first female mayor of Little Rock when she was chosen by her colleagues on the City Board to serve in that position. She was Mayor until December 1988.  During that time, Mayor Shackelford invited the Little Rock Nine back to the City to be recognized for the 30th anniversary of their integration of Central High School.

From 1982 until 1992, she served as Executive Director of the Arkansas Regional Minority Purchasing Council.  She left that position to serve as Deputy Campaign Manager of Clinton for President.  She subsequently served on the Clinton/Gore transition team. She later served on the Overseas Private Investment Corporation from 1993 to 2003. She was the first African American to be in that position.

A graduate of Philander Smith College, she has also studied at the Arkansas Institute of Politics at Hendrix College and the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

Mayor Shackelford has also served on numerous boards including the Little Rock Airport Commission, Philander Smith College, Chapman Funds (Maryland) and Medicis Pharmaceutical Corporation (Arizona).  She has the longest tenure of any serving as Vice-Chair of the Democratic National Committee.

Mayor Shackelford was in the first class of inductees for the Arkansas Black Hall of Fame.  In 2015, she was inducted into the Arkansas Civil Rights Heritage Trail.

Little Rock’s former 1868 City Hall celebrated today

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2018 marks 150 years since the opening of the 1868 Little Rock City Hall, which was located at 120 to 122 West Markham.  This two story building was the home to Little Rock civic life from 1868 until 1908, when the current building was opened.

After City offices moved out, the building housed private businesses until it was torn down in 1964 for urban renewal.  In the early 1980s, the land once again returned to public use when a portion of the Statehouse Convention Center was built on the site.

To mark the 150th anniversary of the opening of the 1868 City Hall, two plaques will be dedicated today.  The first pays tribute to the leaders who oversaw the construction and opening of the building and those who were present when the building closed as City Hall.

The other plaque honors the African American leaders who were on the Little Rock City Council between 1868 and 1893. It also pays tribute to Mifflin Wistar Gibbs who was elected Little Rock Police Judge in 1874.  He became the first African American to be elected to a municipal judgeship in the United States.

While Little Rock city government met in a variety of spaces between 1832 and 1868, records are incomplete as to the locations of those buildings.  The 1868 City Hall location is the first City Hall for which a location and appearance are known.

Little Rock Look Back: Sam M Wassell

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On April 28, 1883, future Little Rock Mayor Sam M. Wassell was born.  His grandfather John W. Wassell had been appointed Mayor of Little Rock in 1868.  He is the only Little Rock Mayor to be a grandson of another Little Rock Mayor.

Sam Wassell served on the Little Rock City Council from 1928 through 1934 and again from 1940 through 1946.  He is one of the few 20th Century Little Rock Mayors who previously served on the City Council.

Wassell was an attorney; he practiced law privately and also served as an Assistant US Attorney.  In 1930, he ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic nomination for the US Congress representing the 5th Congressional District, which at the time included Little Rock.

Wassell ran for Mayor in 1947 and was unopposed in the general election.  (Though the Democratic primary was heated as he took on the incumbent Dan Sprick.)   He was unopposed in his bid for re-election in 1949.  During his second term, President Harry S. Truman visited Little Rock.  In 1951, he sought a third term as Mayor.  No Little Rock Mayor had been successful in achieving a third consecutive term since 1923.  Though he received the Democratic nomination, the Republican party nominated Pratt Remmel who defeated Wassell by a 2 to 1 margin.

With a new USS Little Rock recently put into naval service, it is interesting to note that Wassell’s wife, Ruth Wassell christened the previous USS Little Rock in 1944.

Mayor Wassell died on December 23, 1954 and is buried at Roselawn Cemetery in Little Rock.