The mayor of Springfield is the highest ranking elected official in the city of Springfield, Missouri. Mayoral elections in Springfield are nonpartisan, and though the candidate may personally affiliate with a party, they do not appear on the ticket as a particular party's candidate. Since 1953 all mayoral elections have been voted on by the public, before then having been appointed by the city council. From 1861 to 1865, Springfield was ruled under martial law by Union and Confederate leaders during the American Civil War.
List of Mayors NameTerm DurationPartyA. Maurice1847-1849no party Joseph Burden1849-1851Democratic Warren Graves1852-1856no partyH.S. Chenoweth1856-1857no partyJ.S. Kimbrough1857-1858no partySempronius H. Boyd1858-1860Republican J.W. Mack1860-1861no partyBenjamin Kite1865-1866Republican James H. Creighton1866-1867Republican R.B. Owen1867-1868no partyJ.B. Dexter1868-1869no partyW.E. Gilmore1869-1870Republican L.H. Murray1871-1872Democratic Jonathan Faribanks1872-1873Republican John McGregor1873-1873Democratic John Lisenby1874-1875Republican Joseph J. Weaver1875-1876no partyW.A. Hall1876-1877Democratic Homer F. Fellows1877-1879Whig Joseph McAdoo1879-1880Republican Marzavan J Rountree1880-1881Democratic James Abbott1881-1882Republican George Sale Day1882-1883no partyJohn McGregor1883-1884Democratic Ralph Walker1884-1886Democratic J.S. Atkinson1887-1888Republican Ralph Walker1888-1890Democratic E.D. Parce1890-1894no partyJeremiah Fenton1894-1896Republican V.S. Barlett1896-1898no partyW.A. Hall1898-1900Democratic Ralph Walker1900-1902Democratic J.E.Mallette1902-1904Republican Ben E. Meyer1904-1906Democratic James Bain1906-1908Democratic Louis P. Ernst1908-1910Republican Robert E. Lee1910-1912Democratic George Culler1912-1914Republican T.K. Bowman1914-1916Democratic J.J. Gideon1916-1920Republican W.E. Freeman1920-1928Democratic T.H. Gideon1928-1932Republican Harry D. Durst1932-1940Democratic Harry Ben Carr1940-1948Democratic Otis L. Barbarick1948-1951Republican J. Oliver Gideon1952-1952no partyNathan Karchmer1952-1952no partyW.I. English1952-1955no partyWarren Turner1955-1957no partyJoe Ben Wann1957-1959no partyDavid C. Scott1959-1962no partyE.I. Anderson1962-1967no partyCarl Stillwell1967-1972no partyJim Payne1972-1978no partyPaul Redfearn1978-1981no partyHarry C. Strawn1981-1983no partyGeorge Scruggs1983-1987no partyThomas J. Carlson1988-1993no partyN.L. McCartney1993-1995no partyLeland Gannaway1995-1998no partyThomas Carlson1999-1999no partyLeland Gannaway1999-2001no partyThomas Carlson2001-2009 Independent Jim O'Neal2009-2012Independent Bob Stephens2012-2017LibertarianKen McClure2017–2025 Independent Jeff Schrag2025–2029 Independent
Mayors of Note
Sempronius H. Boyd served as mayor of Springfield from 1858 to 1860, he became a member of the United States House of Representatives representing Missouri's 4th congressional district and was later Minister of the United States to Siam. Homer F. Fellows served as the city's only Whig mayor, later becoming an Abolitionist, then becoming a Republican. Bob Stephens served as the city's only Libertarian mayor, though elections are non-partisan. Elected as a Republican, W. E. Gilmore ran for congress as a Liberal Republican in 1870. Nathan Karchmer was the first and so far only Jewish mayor of Springfield. Thomas Carlson, having served seven terms, is the longest serving mayor in the city's history.
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