List of mayors of Poplar Bluff, Missouri

The city of Poplar Bluff, Missouri, is the third-most populous city in Missouri's 8th congressional district and southeastern Missouri.

The town was started in 1850. The city was incorporated on February 9, 1870.^[1]

List of Mayors

Mayor	Took office	Left office	Additional information
Joseph T. Davison (born 1846)	1883		Ohio-born Civil war veteran who served in the 68th Illinois Infantry and the 3rd Illinois Cavalry before moving to Poplar Bluff in 1874.[2]
Thomas Hugh Moore (1846-1899)[3]	1887	1887	In 1896, this general mercantile store operator was appointed Butler County collector by Governor William Stone.[4]
James Robert Hogg (1863-1934)	1897	1897	Farmer, meat merchant, sheriff, and distillery owner originally from Indiana.[5]
John W. Berryman[6] (c. 1869-1940)[7]	c. 1909[8]	c. 1911
Robert G. Felts[9] (1861-1918)			c. 1914
John W. Berryman (c. 1869-1940)[7]	c. 1917	c. 1919[10]	(He previously served as mayor.)
Edgar G. Hammons[11] (1881-1938)[12]			c. 1926
John W. Berryman[13] (c. 1869-1940)[7]		c. 1927	(He previously served as mayor.)
Bayles K. Flannery			c. 1929[14]
Z. Lee Stekley			c. 1931[15]
Clyde E. Richardson (1906-1977) [16]		1945	A banker who previously resigned as mayor to join the Army Finance Corps during World War II.[17]
Arch W. Bartlett[18] (1901-1985)	1945	1946
Clyde E. Richardson (1906-1977)	1947	1949	(He previously served as mayor.)
E. W. Robinson
Arch W. Bartlett[18] (1901-1985)	1953	1953	(He previously served as mayor.)
E. W. Robinson	1954	1956[19]
John S. West	1957[20]	1963
Walter F. Thies (1921-2011)			He served as a U.S. Navy fighter pilot during World War II.[21]
Robert L. Odell			U.S. Navy veteran of World War II and the Korean War[22]
J. C. Allen	1963	1967
Earl C. Porter (1913-1988)[23]	1967	1970
Louie N. Snider (1923-2013)	1970	1972	The first mayor of the present form of city government. Snider served in the Battle of the Bulge under General Patton.[24]
Harold Jackson	1972	1973
Bernard R. Wheetley (1919-2003)	1973	1975	Delegate to Republican National Convention from Missouri, 1964.[25]
Paul Henry Hillis (born c. 1921)	1975	1975	Hillis joined the Seabees during World War II. Dean of Three Rivers Community College.[26]
Bill I. Foster (born 1946)	1979	1980	Missouri state senator, 2001-2005; Missouri state representative, 1993-2001. Foster also served in the National Guard.[27]
Gerald Lynn Rains	1980	1981[28]	Former Butler County Clerk, 1982-1986.[29]
Bill Sparks	1981	1982	Sparks served on the planning commission for Russellville, Arkansas, for 17 years.[30]
Thomas F. Allen (1931-2012)	1983	1984	Assistant Superintendent of Poplar Bluff public schools.[31]
Bruce E. Holloway (born c. 1952)[32]
Bill Sparks	1985	1986	(He previously served as mayor.)
Robert P. MacDonald	1987	1988
Calvin M. Rutledge	1988	1989	Rutledge resigned during a later term to become director of the Black River Coliseum.[33][34]
Thomas J. Lawson (born 1932)			Lawson has also served as Poplar Bluff city manager and as chairman of the Highway 67 Corporation Board and the Highway 67 Coalition.[35]
Betty Absheer			As of 2014, Absheer has been on the city council since 1989.[36]
Ron Black		1996
Chris Rustin		1998
Reid Forrester (born c. 1960)		2000	Poplar Bluff City Council, 1996-2002. In 2005, he was appointed to the Board of Probation and Parole.[37]
Calvin Rutledge	2000	2000	(He previously served as mayor, 1988-1989.)
Johnny Brannum	2000[33]
Scott Faughn (born 1980)	2002	2005	Faughn was elected the city's youngest mayor at age 22.[38]
Loyd Lee Matthews (1934-2014)			Matthews served 3 years as mayor and 12 years on the city council. He served 4 years in the U.S. Navy around the time of the Korean War.
Susan Williams-McVey[39]			c. 2007
Ed DeGaris[35]	2011		Retired police lieutenant who was elected alderman in 2009.[40]
Angela Pearson (1983-2016)[41]	2014	-	The city's youngest female mayor.[37][42]

References

• Missouri Secretary of State official manuals

1. "History of Poplar Bluff". Retrieved 2014-10-28.
2. "Butler county Missouri,"A View of A Growing Town"". Retrieved 2014-10-28.
3. Howard L. Conard (1901). Encyclopedia of the History of Missouri: A Compendium of History ..., Volume 4. New York: Indiana University Press.
4. "The Historic and Architectural Resources of Poplar Bluff, Missouri" (PDF). Retrieved 2014-10-28.
5. "Index to Politicians: Hogg". Retrieved 2014-10-28.
6. "City Directory of Poplar Bluff, Missouri 1911" (PDF). Retrieved 2014-10-28.
7. "John W. Berryman, Former Bluff Mayor, Dies of Paralysis". Southeast Missourian (Cape Girardeau, Missouri). December 31, 1940.
8. "City Directory of Poplar Bluff, Missouri 1910-1911". Retrieved 2014-10-28.
9. "City Directory of Poplar Bluff, Missouri 1914" (PDF). Retrieved 2014-10-28.
10. "City Directory of Poplar Bluff, Missouri 1919" (PDF). Retrieved 2014-10-28.
11. "City Directory of Poplar Bluff, Missouri 1926" (PDF). Retrieved 2014-10-28.
12. "Missouri Death Certificates, 1910–1963" (PDF). Retrieved 2014-10-25.
13. "Southeast Missouri News". Southeast Missourian (Cape Girardeau, Missouri). July 7, 1927.
14. "City Directory of Poplar Bluff, Missouri 1929" (PDF). Retrieved 2014-10-28.
15. "City Directory of Poplar Bluff, Missouri 1931" (PDF). Retrieved 2014-10-28.
16. "City Directory of Poplar Bluff, Missouri 1945" (PDF). Retrieved 2014-10-28.
17. "Clyde Richardson". Retrieved 2014-10-28.
18. "Index to Politicians: Bartlett". Retrieved 2014-10-28.
19. "Index to Politicians: Robinson, E to F". Retrieved 2014-10-28.
20. "Index to Politicians: West to Westby". Retrieved 2014-10-28.
21. "Tributes.com: Walter F. Thies". Retrieved 2014-10-28.
22. "House Resolution No. 52" (PDF). Retrieved 2014-10-28.
23. "Earl C Porter (1913-1988)". Retrieved 2014-10-28.
24. "Tributes: Louie Snider". Retrieved 2014-10-28.
25. "Index to Politicians: Wheeler-smith to Whipper". Retrieved 2014-10-28.
26. "Missouri State Society Daughters of the American Revolution: Patriot of the Month, September 2014" (PDF). Retrieved 2014-10-28.
27. "Legislator Papers Bill I. Foster, 1993-2005" (PDF). Retrieved 2014-10-28.
28. "New Bluff Mayor". Southeast Missourian (Cape Girardeau, Missouri). April 21, 1981.
29. "At a Glance Missouri: Former Mayor Sentenced". The Nevada Daily Mail (Nevada, Missouri). April 27, 1987.
30. "Sparks to fill Ginsberg's place on ballot". Retrieved 2014-10-28.
31. "Thomas F. Allen". Retrieved 2014-10-28.
32. "Former Mayor Sentenced to 25 Years For Cocaine Trafficking". Retrieved 2014-10-28.
33. "Brannum Elected Mayor by Poplar Bluff Board". Southeast Missourian (Cape Girardeau, Missouri). September 7, 2000.
34. "Tommy Dorsey Orchestra swings into Poplar Bluff". Southeast Missourian (Cape Girardeau, Missouri). October 9, 2001.
35. "Hwy. 67 Celebration Friday City to Honor Lawson". 2011-08-21. Retrieved 2014-10-28.
36. "City manager panel named". 2014-05-21. Retrieved 2014-10-28.
37. "Blunt names area man to parole board". 2014-10-12. Retrieved 2014-10-28.
38. "Former Region 8 Mayor Faces Four Felony Charges". 2005-02-28. Retrieved 2014-10-28.
39. "Susan McVey". Retrieved 2014-10-28.
40. "New Poplar Bluff Mayor may Still Sue City". 2011-04-21. Retrieved 2014-10-28.
41. "Rockethub: Angela Pearson". Retrieved 2014-10-28.
42. "Tables turn as political novice becomes mayor of Poplar Bluff". 2014-04-23. Retrieved 2014-10-28.

Key

Key to party colors and abbreviations for members of the U.S. Congress
American (Know-Nothing) (K-N) Adams (A), Anti-Jacksonian (Anti-J), National Republican (NR) Anti-Administration (Anti-Admin) Anti-Masonic (Anti-M) Conservative (Con) Democratic (D)	Dixiecrat (Dix), States' rights (SR) Democratic-Republican (D-R) Farmer–Labor (FL) Federalist (F) Free Soil (FS) Free Silver (FSv) Fusion (FU)	Greenback (GB) Jacksonian (J) Nonpartisan League (NPL) Nullifier (N) Opposition (O) Populist (Pop) Pro-Administration (Pro-Admin)	Progressive (Prog) Prohibition (Proh) Readjuster (Rea) Republican (R) Socialist (Soc) Unionist (U) Whig (W)	Independent, None, or Unaffiliated