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Mayoral Spotlight:  William Carr Lane

First Mayor of St. Louis (1823-1829) and again (1837-1840)

October 1, 2015 | 2 min reading time

This article is 9 years old. It was published on October 1, 2015.

Portrait of Dr. William Carr Lane, 1st Mayor of the City of St. Louis 1823

William Carr Lane

From A Brief Biography by Charles H. Cornwell, published in 1965

 In 1809 St. Louis was incorporated as a town.  Five elected trustees governed the village:  Auguste Chouteau, Edward Hempstead, Bernard Pratte, Peter Chouteau and Alexander McNair.  The town's population increased and there was growing demand that it should have regular City government.  Its incorporation as a City was ratified by vote of the people in March of 1823, and the first Mayor was elected in April of the same year.  

William Carr Lane was born in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, December 1, 1789.  He attended Jefferson and Dickinson Colleges in Pennsylvania.  His study of medicine was made at Louisville, Kentucky.  In 1816 he was appointed post surgeon at Fort Harrison, then commanded by Zachary Taylor.  He married Miss Mary Ewing of Vincennes, Indiana, in 1818, and his family included three children.

Dr. Lane came west to St. Louis in 1818 as post surgeon at Fort Bellefontaine.  In 1819 he resigned from the army and formed a partnership with Dr. Samuel Merry.  Then in 1823 he became the first Mayor of St. Louis.  At that time the Mayor's term was one year, and it was not lengthened to two years until 1859.  Since 1876 the term has been four years.  Dr. Lane was elected to six of these one-year terms in succession, and after almost nine years out of office, he was elected again three more times -- once to fill out the unexpired term of Mayor John F. Darby, then for two full terms.  At his first election he received 122 votes to Auguste Chouteau's 70.

Here are a few of Mayor Lane's words to the first Board of Aldermen concerning the City's future:

"The fortunes of the inhabitants may fluctuate, you and I may sink into oblivion, and even our families become extinct, but the progressive rise of our City is morally certain.  The causes of its prosperity are inscribed upon the very face of the earth, and are as permanent as the foundations of the soil and the sources of the Mississippi."

Upon becoming Mayor of 4,000 people, he found the town one of unpaved streets.  Under his guidance the narrow streets were graded and improved and Main Street was paved.  A small Town Hall was erected.  The first Health Commission was formed and given power to abate nuisances.  Physicians were required to make weekly reports of deaths.  St. Louis got ready to receive its first world famous visitor.  In 1825 General Lafayette visited America and came to St. Louis by steamboat.  He stayed at the substantial stone home of Major Pierre Chouteau.  A grand ball was given in Lafayette's honor on the night of April 29, 1825.

The basic ordinances for the establishment of City government were passed during Mayor Lane's administration.  The Official City Seal -- a steamboat carrying the United States Flag -- was adopted.  The City was divided into three wards.  Procedures for elections were written into law.  Fast driving was prohibited: horses should not exceed a moderate trot or pace.  Fire arms were not to be discharged within the City.  The Mayor's salary was $300 per year.

In 1852, the President of the United States, Millard Fillmore, appointed Dr. Lane Governor of the New Mexico Territory.  He later returned to St. Louis and continued to practice medicine until his death, January 6, 1863.  Burial was in Bellefontaine Cemetery.

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