Meet ‘Herzonner’ Emma J. Harvat.

Sadly, most Iowa Citians don’t recognize her name today, but in truth, one hundred years ago, between 1922 and 1925, Iowa City’s Emma J. Harvat – affectionately known by close friends, as Herzhonner* – was one of the most famous women across the country.

**Herzonner Emma J. Harvat.** *The title of ‘Herzonner’ was a very special name given to her by close friends. We’ll save that story for later! Keep reading!

Emma J. Harvat (1870–1949) was an American businesswoman and politician, notable as the first female mayor of Iowa City, and as the first woman to be elected leader of a United States municipality with a population exceeding 10,000!

Harvat was born in Iowa City on April 24, 1870. Her parents – Joseph and Mary Harvat – were Czech immigrants who settled in the Goosetown neighborhood, and Emma was the ninth of their ten children. When her father first arrived here (1854), Joseph was a day-laborer, but by the 1880’s, he had started his own business – Harvat Meat Market.

Emma Harvat attended St. Mary’s Catholic parochial school before going to the Iowa City Academy and Iowa City (Williams) Commercial College to learn clerical skills. Click here to read more about commercial business colleges in Iowa City.

By the time Emma was nineteen (1889), she was a clerk at Lee & Welch Book & Stationery store, while supporting her younger sister, Clara. Thirteen years later (1902), after paying her sister’s way through college, Emma had moved on, accumulating enough savings to buy the shares of John Ries of the Lee & Ries Bookstore, and soon, owned the entire operation!

In 1904, Emma Harvat turned a profit by selling her Iowa City store back to her former employers, so she took her money, and moved to Kirksville, Missouri…

Top left: Kirksville Weekly Graphic, July 29, 1904; Center: Kirksville Daily Express, April 8, 1913; Bottom left: Iowa City Daily Press, April 11, 1913; Right: Kirksville Daily Express, August 28, 1913.

Over a nine-year period (1904-1913), she owned and operated a successful bookstore – Normal Bookstore on Normal Street in Kirksville (see above articles). By the time Emma was forty-three (1913), she decided to move back to Iowa City to start a whole new business endeavor with her life-long friend, Mary (May) E. Stach – the oldest daughter of Joseph (J.J.) Stach – a long-time shoe salesman in Iowa City.

By the late summer of 1913, Emma Harvat and May Stach opened a ladies’ ready-to-wear clothing store – Harvat and Stach – The Woman’s Shop – on the first floor of Iowa City’s new Jefferson Hotel. The store became an immediate success and as founders of the Iowa City Professional and Business Women League, Stach became the store’s expert on fashion, while Harvat ran the business. The December 16, 1918 edition of The Iowa City Press-Citizen (below left) reports that Harvat & Stach will move to a much larger location – 16 S. Dubuque Street – just in time for Christmas 1918 sales…

Ready-to-wear clothing was a new concept at the time, and it was very much associated with the increasing independence of women. Such clothes meant women who could afford them no longer had to spend time making their own.

With their big success in retailing, Harvat and Stach also became involved in buying & selling real estate, and in 1919, the two single women – who were more than just business partners, but domestic partners as well – built a new house (see above), the Emma J. Harvat and Mary E. Stach House located at 332 E. Davenport Street. Their beautiful home still stands today and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on May 11, 2000.

This brings our Emma J. Harvat’s story to 1920 – a true dividing line in her life. Over the next decade, Emma will go from being a successful retail business woman with her hands in real estate to becoming one of the best-known women in politics across the United States and beyond…

When the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, guaranteeing the right of women to vote, was ratified on August 26, 1920, politically-active women across Iowa wanted to expand their roles.

**Carrie C. Catt – Iowa’s Champion for Women’s Rights**. Growing up in Charles City, Iowa as a farmer’s daughter, very few people expected Carrie Lane to be a world-changer. But over her 88 years, this ISU graduate became one of the key leaders of the American women’s suffrage movement. Her superb oratory and organizational skills led to ratification of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, granting women the right to vote in August, 1920. Read more here.

As the story is told, Emma Harvat was never really interested in politics, but when crimes such as gambling and bootlegging increased substantially across Iowa City due to national Prohibition (1920), Harvat decided to get involved. And with her strong desire for her city to get tough on crime, she was easily nominated (and elected) to the Iowa City City Council in March 1921…

The March 12, 1921 edition of The Press-Citizen announces both the Democratic and Republican city tickets, with Miss Emma Harvat nominated by the Republicans for a seat-at-large.

In the spring of 1922, state and federal agents conducted sweepings raids in the area, resulting in 86 indictments. Just after that, Iowa City Mayor Ingalls Swisher unexpectedly fired his chief of police — provoking public outrage — and when the council wouldn’t confirm Swisher’s inexperienced choice for chief, the mayor immediately resigned. So, on June 19, 1922, and to no one’s surprise, the crime-stopper, Emma J. Harvat – who had been doing a bang-up job as an at-large council member over the last year – was quickly appointed as acting mayor by the city council, making her the first woman mayor in, not only Iowa City, but the entire United States!

Emma Harvat was named mayor of Iowa City on June 19, 1922 and served the remainder of Mayor Ingalls Swisher’s term which extended into March 1923.

The June 19, 1922 edition of The Iowa City Press-Citizen announces the big news (above) on page one, and on page 10 (below) the mayor’s biographical account convinces Iowa Citians that she is ready for the task…

As the first female leader of a city with a population of more than 10,000 in the United States, her election was covered in national and international newspapers. Suddenly, Emma Harvat had become a national celebrity!

Below left: Kansas City Post, June 22, 1922; Below top center: Cedar Rapids Gazette, December 13, 1922; Below bottom center: Davenport Daily Times, August 28, 1922; Below right: Indianapolis Times, July 3, 1922.

Emma’a election earned her headlines in newspapers around the world, from San Francisco to Paris to Shanghai, and the press dubbed Harvat’s office as the “Petticoat Administration.” One of the biggest news spreads came from the September 24, 1922 edition of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch…

As it turned out, Emma Harvat was the right person for the right time: an Iowa woman of remarkable vision, professional achievement, and originality who was a pathfinder for civic leaders across the country.

Mayor Harvat ran for re-election as mayor in March of 1923 and was voted in by a good majority of the voters…

Harvat successfully served as Iowa City’s mayor from 1922-1925 – through a period of civic growth. During her tenure a zoning commission was established, city services were improved and extended, and Iowa City began paving our city’s streets.

***The March 27, 1923 edition of The Iowa City Press-Citizen announces that the “Return of Mayor Harvat To Chair Shows Confidence of Voters in Woman Executive.”***

Bringing the female perspective to problems in city government, Emma Harvat immediately separated female and male offenders in the city jail and established a much-needed juvenile home. At that time, the mayor also served as police judge, a role Harvat embraced. With her large and imposing figure and confident manner, she ruled with a firm hand. In 1923, she pulled in a record $6,000 in fines for the city, more than doubling any preceding year.

In the April 21, 1984 Press-Citizen, Iowa City historian Irving Weber recounted several stories that revealed the national & international impact that Mayor Harvat had during her three-year term. Left: Mayor Harvest played an important part in the development of the Iowa City Airport. Read more here. Right: As a proud owner of an electric automobile, Emma was very active in improving the streets of Iowa City, and was a major player in establishing the Red Ball Route in Johnson County. Read more here.

Above: here’s a personal recollection from Irving Weber that gives us a feel for both Emma Harvat’s tough and compassionate side when serving as mayor. Weber went on in his 1984 article to say… “Mayor Harvat once said that she wished to put the city on such a basis that a mother can send her daughter to the university without feeling that she will return a ‘brazen flapper,’ utterly devoid of old-fashioned charm, and a father will feel that his son will not return a ‘jazz-loving cake-eater.’”

In March 1925, Emma Harvat ran for another term as Iowa City’s mayor. Despite a sterling record as mayor – as shown in ads placed in The Press-Citizen (above) – sadly, the mayor lost the election in a close race, and a secondary run for the city council, ten years later (1935), was unsuccessful as well. Yet, these temporary set-backs didn’t stop Emma J. Harvat from living the remainder of her life to the full.

Emma J. Harvat died on May 30, 1949, at age 79. Her “lifelong companion” – Mary (May) Stach would live for another 23 years, dying in 1972, at age 95. In 2001, the Iowa City City Council auditorium at the City Hall of Iowa City, was designated as Emma J. Harvat Hall, and Harvat was inducted into the Iowa Women’s Hall of Fame in 2007.