Recalling pleasant things and taking the time to dwell on them.
Meet Iowa City’s Mayors – 1853 To Today – Volume II.
This is the second page in a series of six – covering the long history (1853 to today) of the mayors of Iowa City. You might want to return to the introductory page to read all of the preliminary information before proceeding here with Volume II…
At the time of this writing (2025), Iowa City – over our 172-year-history as an incorporated city – has had 65 different mayors serving 73 separate terms. Our three main resources for these webpages are 1) Irving Weber’s articles from March 1985 (above left), which at that time, covered 56 different mayors, 2) the listing of city mayors found in the records of the Iowa City Library (above right top), and 3) a list of mayors (1853-1882) taken from The History of Johnson County -1882 (above right bottom).
So here, for your reading enjoyment, are some updated facts and figures on each of our 65 illustrious city leaders – continuing on this page two…
Iowa City Mayor #13 – The February 24, 1869 edition of The Iowa City Republican (below) offers the Republican City Ticket with the mayoral candidate F.H. Lee at the top. As you can see from the article, numerous arguments are made on why the Republican ticket needs to win – including the travesty that “our ladies have been compelled to flounder in the mud of the crossings”. Sadly, no other information is available on Lee.Iowa City Mayor #14 – Stephen Edson Paine (1830-1920) took over the mayor’s office in March of 1871, and went right to work. As you can see from the article (below left) from the April 26, 1871 edition of The Iowa City Republican, the mayor and city council wanted to crack down on the sale of wine and beer. The article (below middle) from the March 11, 1873 edition of The Daily Press, shows us just a sampling of the on-going battle between the Democratic Party (of which Paine was a member), and the Republican Party (of which the Iowa City postmaster was involved).
Iowa City Mayor #15– Moses Bloom (1832-1893), mayor in 1874-1875, opened his “One-Price-Clothing House” in 1857. When his son-in-law, Max Mayer, joined the firm, he built the three-story building (see below) for the store and it continued into the 1910’s. Later Bloom operated the Iowa Alcohol Company, distilling alcohol for export, mostly to Spain, for industrial purposes.Below (left) the March 6, 1874 edition of The Iowa Anti Monopolist newspaper announces Bloom’s election as mayor of Iowa City.Bloom, who lived at 116 S. Dodge St., also served in the State Legislature and had a stint as Iowa City’s postmaster. In the July 26, 1980 edition of The Press-Citizen (above), Irving Weber gives a good overview of Moses Bloom’s influence in Iowa City.This article (above) from the front page of the June 25, 1874 Daily Press announces that Mayor Bloom and the City Council has issued a new ordinance on licensing circuses, menageries & sideshows.Below – Bloom’s was known throughout Iowa City as the place for women’s clothing.Iowa City Mayor #16, #19– Jacob Ricord was born September 26, 1816, in Philadelphia. Ricord was a shoemaker by trade when he came to Iowa City (1840), became a merchant dealer in boots and shoes, and carried on that business in Iowa City until June 14, 1880, when he was appointed by President Hayes to be the postmaster of Iowa City. He was mayor of Iowa City for two different terms – in 1875-76, and 1878-79 – and was for several years a member of the city council.Ricord passed away at the age of 80 in 1896 and is buried in Oakland Cemetery in Iowa City.Iowa City Mayor #17 – Biographical material from the March 1, 1876 Daily Press (below left & center) led to Henry Morrow’s (1826-1906) election in 1876 – becoming known as our “centennial mayor” with America’s 100th birthday. Years later – in 1901 – Col. Morrow was recruited to run for mayor again (see below right), but, at age 74, he refused to run.Below are the results of the 1876 city election, as published in the March 7, 1876 Daily Press.Iowa City Mayor #18– Frederick (Fred) Theobald (1838-1917) was elected mayor in 1877, and held the office for only one year (1877-1878). A Democrat, the February 26, 1877 Daily Press (below) said Theobald “will whack up the biggest majority any Mayor of Iowa City ever had!” Upon his passing on April 24, 1917, the Press-Citizen (below) offered a fine obituary that covered Theobald’s influence in Iowa City.Apparently, his gravestone in Oakland Cemetery was engraved at a later time – since it has his death year recorded incorrectly. Iowa City Mayor #19– This was Jacob Ricord’s second term (1878-1879) – see #16 earlier.Iowa City Mayor #20– Matthew J. Cavanagh – who served as Iowa City mayor for one year (1879-1880) –was born May 12, 1832 in Cass County, Michigan. He was married September 1858 to Mary Fellows of Lee County, Illinois. Matthew and Mary both graduated from Cornell College and Matthew was admitted to practice law in Iowa in 1861. Cavanagh engaged in the practice of law and real estate, was Sheriff of Johnson County, Township Trustee, a member of the City Council, and a member of the Iowa City School Board and its President. He died October 13, 1927 at the age of 95 and is buried in Oakland Cemetery in Iowa City.Matthew Cavanagh’s father – James Cavanagh built their family home at 704 Reno Street in 1870 and after his death (1880), his wife Amy lived there until 1902. The house was then sold to Joseph Zetek and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on September 16, 1977. You can read more here.Iowa City Mayor #21 – William A. Morrison (1838-1900) served as mayor for two years (1880-1882). Below (left) is Morrison’s obituary from the June 1, 1900 edition of The Iowa Citizen, (middle) the 1880 election results from the March 2, 1880 edition of The Daily Press, and (right) the 1881 election results from the March 8, 1881 edition of The Iowa City Daily Republican.The family business – Crescent Pharmacy on College Street was taken over by his son – William W. Morrison – read more here.
Iowa City Mayor #22, #25 – Mayor John Jacob Holmes (1833-1889) was first elected mayor of Iowa City in 1882 on the Republican ticket, serving four years in two separate terms (1882-1884, and 1887-1889). Holmes was a marble cutter at Sterling & Company at 116 E. College Street. Holmes was born on December 28, 1833, in Leesburg, Carroll County, Ohio, and was married October 30, 1858 to Sarah Bodley of Newton, Iowa and settled in Iowa City in June 1863.Below: Column 1 – Here’s a March 3, 1882 ad for Sterling & Co. Marble Works, Columns 2 & 3 -The March 4, 1882 Daily Republican announces the 1882 Republican City Ticket, Columns 4 & 5 – The March 6, 1883 Daily Republican gives the results of the 1883 City Election.More on Holmes re-election in 1887 here.Iowa City Mayor #23, #27, #29 – After first having served as city treasurer and county treasurer, Charles Morgan (C.M.) Reno (1846-1918) – the son of Iowa City’s fifth mayor, Morgan Reno – served as mayor for eight years, spread out over three different periods: 1884-1886, 1889-1893, and 1895-1897. Below are reports from the March 5th (left) & 19th (right), 1884 editions of The Iowa State Press – indicating Reno’s first of many successful elections as mayor of Iowa City.You can read more about his later elections here.C.M. Reno – at age 20 – opened China Hall on Washington Street in 1866, selling china, glass and crockery for nine years, and later, selling What Cheer coal and running a real estate business. His home was located at 530 N. Dubuque Street. Reno Street – which is named for both his father – Morgan – and himself – runs from Bloomington Street north into Oakland Cemetery in Iowa City.Iowa City Mayor #24 – J. M. Barta Letovsky (1845-1931) was an editor and one of the proprietors of the Slovan Americky, Iowa’s only Bohemian paper – published in Iowa City. He was born December 15, 1845 in Moravia and came to America with his family – landing in Boston in 1853 before moving briefly to Racine, Wisconsin, and then to Jefferson Township, Johnson County, Iowa with his parents. After six years here, Letovsky returned to Racine (1859), before finally coming back to Iowa City in 1869, where he worked on the Bohemian newspaper started by his father.J.M.B. Letovsky was married August 30, 1869 to Mary Lenoch of Monroe Township, was a Democrat in politics, and always took an active part in the welfare of his party, especially among the Bohemian people. Letovsky held several offices in the city, including the Iowa City School board, the City Council, and served one term as mayor (1886-1887), before being elected to represent Johnson County in the Twenty-third Iowa General Assembly in 1890.The Letovsky home – located at 515 E. Davenport Street – has remained as a classic Iowa City home. The May 26, 1982 edition of The Press-Citizen (below) gives us more on the Letovsky house – which, on April 12, 1982, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. After serving in the State Legislature (1890), J.M.B. Letovsky moved to Cedar Rapids, where he died, at age 85, on May 7, 1931. He is buried in the Czech National Cemetery in Cedar Rapids.
