New York City has a mayor-centric form of government. But it did not start out that way. In 1665, shortly after the English assumed control of the colony from the Dutch, governor Richard Nicolls appointed Thomas Willett as the first New York City mayor. 

Over the next 150 years, the colonial governor, and then the governor of New York State, annually appointed the mayor. The early mayors sat on the Common Council and had limited powers. Beginning in 1820, the Common Council elected the mayors. In 1830, the mayor was given the power to veto decisions of the Council, of which he was no longer a member. The first direct election of the mayor took place in 1834 when Cornelius Van Wyck Lawrence defeated Gulian Verplanck, both descendants of Dutch colonists. 

As the city grew in population and complexity through the 19th century, so too did the relative importance of the mayoralty. The Municipal Archives’ mayoral papers collection mirrors this trajectory of the executive office in city government. Although the office of mayor dates to 1665, the first collection of mayoral papers consists of exactly two thin folders of documents from the office of Mayor Philip Hone (1826-27). By contrast, the Common Council papers from that same time period totals more than 13 cubic feet. 

Mayoral collections from 1827 through 1848 similarly contain one or two folders of documents. One exception is Mayor Aaron Clark (1837-38). During his mayoralty the city experienced a yellow fever outbreak and his collection includes four folders of documents related to quarantining vessels landing in New York harbor.

The collection of Mayor Caleb S. Woodhull, 1849-1851, although still miniscule (.25 cubic feet) in comparison to subsequent mayoral office holders, consists of eleven folders pertaining to the Commissioner of Emigration: Quarantine – Reports of Passengers, and two other folders related to emigrant boarding houses and runners.

Major public works such as the Croton Aqueduct (opened in 1842), the Central Park (opened in 1859), and the Brooklyn Bridge (open in 1883), together with the need to maintain these and related infrastructure—water and sewer lines, utilities, streets, parks, bridges, docks, etc. —led to the establishment of municipal departments. Recurring epidemics and the demand to protect public health led to creation of the Department of Health in 1866. The Department of Buildings, also established in 1866, came in response to advances in building technology that required regulations and oversight. The Department of Public Charities and Correction dates to 1860. And the growing population required more protective services—police and fire. This ever-increasing municipal work force and resulting opportunities for patronage enhanced the power executive office. 

Similarly, the volume and intellectual content of the mayoral collections grew during this period.  Mayor William Havemeyer (1873-74) and Mayor William H. Wickham (1875-76) both generated 12 cubic feet of records; the Abram S. Hewitt (1887-88) collection is 19 cubic feet and Mayor Hugh J. Grant (1889-92) tops out at 31 cubic feet. 

In theory, consolidation of the Greater City of New York in 1898 and the vast increase in the jurisdiction of the municipality should have cemented the mayor’s power. Although the mayor became the symbolic head of government, the newly created Offices of the Borough Presidents circumscribed the executive’s ability to control the city’s payroll. Other powers were shared with a strengthened Board of Estimate. But beginning with the mayoralty of Fiorello LaGuardia (1934-45), the powers of the executive began to overtake the other branches and to accrue the powers it enjoys until the present day.

Future blogs will examine the role of the mayor and how the Municipal Archives’ mayoral collections—each unique—reflect the time period and the individual who held the office.  

But before we leave our 19th century mayors, we will give one mayor, George Opdyke (1862-64), a special shout-out in recognition of the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday. In 1863, during the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln issued a proclamation fixing the national observation of Thanksgiving on the final Thursday in November, a move he hoped would help “heal the wounds of the nation.” In New York City, Mayor Opdyke issued his own Proclamation acknowledging the President’s designation of Thursday the 26th as a “…day of Thanksgiving and Prayer” and adding “…it becomes the duty of every good citizen to refrain from all secular employment on that day, and to devote it to appropriate religious exercises.” 

Wishing everyone a Happy Thanksgiving.  Look for our next blog on December 4.