The post of Mayor of Jackson, Mississippi, was begun in 1834 and was originally referred to as "President of Selectmen" before being changed to "Mayor". Harvey Johnson Jr. elected in 1997 became the city's first black mayor. All of the mayors since have also been African American. The following individuals have held the office:

President of Selectmen

Image President of Selectmen Years Notes/Citation Thomas H. Dickson 1834 S.P. Baley 1835 Thomas H. Dickson 1836 S.P. Baley 1836 John P. Oldham 1837–1838

Mayors Image Mayor Years Notes/Citation John P. Oldham 1839 H.R. McDonald 1840 John P. Oldham (2nd term) 1840–1841 James H. Boyd 1842–1843 John P. Oldham (3rd term) 1844–1849 James H. Boyd (2nd term) 1850 J.P. Jones 1851 William H. Taylor 1852–1853 Richard Fletcher 1854 William H. Taylor (2nd term) 1855–1857 James H. Boyd (3rd term) 1858 W.A. Purdom 1859 Richard C. Kerr 1860–1861 Charles Henry Manship 1862–1863 D.N. Barrows 1864–1867 Maj. Thomas H. Norton 1868 Union officer appointed as mayor Bvt. Lt. Col. James Biddle 1868 Union officer appointed as mayor Col. James P. Sessions (J. P. Sessions) 1868–1869 Native of Natchez, Mississippi, former Confederate officer, died April 3, 1886 Rhesa Hatcher 1869 Bvt. Lt. Col. Joseph G. Crane 1869 Union officer appointed as mayor; stabbed to death by Edward M. Yerger, a former Confederate officer Captain F.A. Field 1869 Union officer appointed as mayor A. Way Kelly 1869 E. W. Cabaniss 1869–1870 Oliver Clifton 1870–1871 Rhesa Hatcher (2nd term) 1871–1872 Marion Smith 1872–1874 John McGill 1874–1888 William Henry 1888–1893 L.F. Chiles 1893–1895 He served as Assistant Secretary of the Mississippi Senate He was also a deputy sheriff, alderman, and secretary of the Mississippi Fair Association. Testimony was given he proposed taking Charlie Morgan down to the swamp and tying him to a tree with someone posted to watch him until after an election because he was a leader of "negroes" Oliver Clifton (2nd term) 1895–1897 Ramsey Wharton 1897–1899 H.M. Taylor 1899 W.W. Morrison 1899 Mayor Pro Tem John W. Todd 1899–1901 William Hemingway 1901–1905 Oliver Clifton †(3rd term) 1905 died before taking office Ramsey Wharton †(2nd term) 1905 – November 1908 Died in office A.C. Crowder 1909–1913 Swepson James Taylor 1913–1917 Walter A. Scott 1917–1945 Leland L. Speed 1945–1949 Allen C. Thompson 1949–1969 Russell C. Davis 1969–1977 Dale Danks 1977–1989 J. Kane Ditto 1989–1997 Harvey Johnson, Jr. 1997–2005 first African American Mayor of Jackson Frank Melton † 2005–2009 died in office Leslie B. McLemore 2009 interim mayor Harvey Johnson Jr. (2nd term) 2009–2013 Chokwe Lumumba † 2013–2014 died in office Charles Tillman 2014 Tony Yarber 2014–2017 Chokwe Antar Lumumba 2017–2025 John Horhn 2025–present

See also Timeline of Jackson, Mississippi

References

Additional sources Brinson, Carroll. Jackson/A Special Kind of Place. Jackson, MS: City of Jackson, 1977. LCCN 77-081145.

External links Jackson, MS Mayor's Office - official website