Choose A Mayor
1796-1798 John McClaren Breed
1798-1813 Elisha Hyde
1814-1831 Calvin Goddard
1831-1834 James Lanman
1834-1835 Francis Asher Perkins
1835-1838 Charles William Rockwell
1838-1839 Charles James Lanman
1839-1840 William Charles Gilman
1840-1842 John Breed
1842-1843 William Parkinson Greene
1843-1845 Gurdon Chapman
1845-1846 John Breed
1846-1847 Charles William Rockwell
1847-1849 John Dunham
1849-1851 William A. Buckingham
1853-1855 Captain Erastus Williams
1855-1856 William Lyman Brewer
1856-1858 William A. Buckingham
1858-1860 Amos Wylie Prentice
1860-1862 James Stedman Carew
1862-1866 James Lloyd Greene
1866-1870 Lorenzo Blackstone
1870-1871 James Albert Hovey
1871-1875 James Lloyd Greene
1875-1876 Hugh Henry Osgood
1876-1877 Dr. Charles Osgood
1877-1886 Hugh Henry Osgood
1886-1888 Increase W. Carpenter
1888-1892 Stiles Ashbel Crandall
1892-1896 Calvin Luther Harwood
1900-1908 Charles Frederic Thayer
1908-1910 Costello Lippitt
1910-1912 Charles Frederic Thayer
1912-1916 Timothy C. Murphy
1916-1918 Allyn Larrabee Brown
1918-1920 Jeremiah Joseph Desmond
1920-1922 Herbert Morgan Lerou
1922-1928 Milo Robertson Waters
1928-1932 Lee Roy Robbins
1932-1938 Edward G. Moran
1938-1940 Anthony Wayne O'Connell
1940-1941 William Joseph Fitzgerald
1941-1944 Richard L. Norman
1944-1948 James J. Mullins
1948-1951 Richard F. Marks
Election Styles
Since 1784 the town and city of Norwich have been governed, at the local level by Mayors, Aldermen, Town Managers, and the City Council. Over the years the style of leadership, election type and length of terms has changed to accommodate the needs of her citizens. The table below summarizes the styles of leadership from 1784 to present.
| Type of Leader | Election Style | Beginning Election Year | Mayor Takes Office | Length of Term |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mayor | Annual Meeting | June 1784 | July 1 | Undefined |
| Mayor | Annual Meeting | June 1831 | July 1 | 1 year |
| Mayor | Annual Meeting | June 1875 | July 1 | 2 years |
| Mayor | General Election | June 1944 | July 1 | 2 years |
| City Manager | City Council | Nov 1951 | 1st Tues in Dec | 2 years |
| Mayor | General Election | Nov 2001 | 1st Tues in Dec | 4 years |
| Mayor | General Election | Present | 1st Tues in Dec | 4 years |
Mayor of Norwich (1784-1796)
Benjamin Huntington (b.1736-d.1800)
The office of Mayor of Norwich was first established in May 1784, when Norwich was first incorporated into Connecticut by the Connecticut General Assembly. In July 1784 Benjamin Huntington was elected as the first mayor.
Frances Manwaring Caulkins said of him :
“This first Mayor of the City was one of the most honored and honorable men of that period, — a statesman of incorruptible integrity, conspicuous for his patriotic service in the town, state, and general government.”
Benjamin was related to Samuel Huntington, signer of the Declaration of Independence. Benjamin’s grandfather Simon, was also Samuel’s great-grandfather. Benjamin and Samuel served in the 2nd Continental Congress together from 1780 – March 1781. They also served together from March 1781 – July 1781 in the Confederation Congress.
During the early months of the American Revolution he was a member of Connecticut House of Representatives Committee of Safety. While on this committee, he played an integral role in procuring and refitting a navy vessel, The Spy, that was to be used as an intelligence gathering asset.
The list of Benjamin Huntington’s accomplishments and public service to Norwich, the Colony of Connecticut, the State of Connecticut, and the United States is long. An abbreviated list is provided below.
Benjamin Huntington is buried in the Old Norwichtown Burial Ground.
| Year | Activity |
|---|---|
| 1761 | Graduated from Yale College |
| 1771-1780 | Member of the Connecticut House Representatives |
| 1775 | Member of the CT House Committee of Safety |
| 1780-1781 | Delegate to the 2nd Continental Congress |
| 1781-1784 | Delegate to the Confederation Congress |
| 1784-1796 | Mayor of Norwich Connecticut |
| 1787-1788 | Delegate to the Continental Congress |
| 1789 -1798 | United States Congressman (The 1st U.S. Congress) |
The SPY
During the early months of the American Revolution, Benjamin Huntington was a member of Connecticut House of Representatives Committee of Safety. While on this committee, he played an integral part of procuring and refitting a navy vessel that was to be used as an intelligence gathering asset.
The vessel was procured and then sailed into Norwich Harbor for refitting in August 1775. After the refitting was complete the vessel was christened the “The Spy”. It became the first vessel of the Connecticut State Navy and was sent into action on October 7, 1775. The Spy, commanded by Captain Robert Niles, had a long successful tenure.
In 1976, The Spy was featured on the British Virgin Islands stamp, shown on the left, commemorating the United States Bicentennial.
Acknowledgements
“History of Norwich, Connecticut: From Its Possession From the Indians, to the Year 1866”, page 625, by Frances Manwaring Caulkins
Wikipedia
The complete list of sources may be found by clicking the “Bibliography” button, and, then entering “Benjamin Huntington” in the SEARCH box.
Mayor of Norwich (1796-1798)
John McClaren Breed (b.1748-d.1798)
Before becoming Norwich’s second mayor, John M. Breed graduated from Yale in 1768 with a Master of Arts degree and from Princeton in 1771. Breed was a distinguished lawyer who was cared about the people of Norwich. One of his focus areas was the development of Norwich infrastructure. He helped improve the streets, wharves, buildings and bridges in Norwich. He was a successful merchant.
Mayor Breed also had an acute sense of fairness. In 1782 he became a member of a group that opposed unfair trade practices that were hurting the citizens of Norwich.
Association Against Illicit Trade
According to Source 1:
“In 1781 and 1782 the town was overflowing with merchandise, both tropical and European. New mercantile firms were established,—Daniel Rodman, Samuel Woodbridge, Lynde McCurdy, and others,—and lavish varieties of fancy texture, as well as the substantial products of almost every climate, were offered for sale. The shelves and counters of the fashionable class of shops displayed such articles as super fine broadcloths, men’s silk hose, India silks, Damascus silks, taffetas, satins, Persians, and velvets, blonde lace, gauzes, and chintzes. These goods were mostly obtained by successful privateering.”
“Another class of merchandise of a cheaper kind, and not dealt in by honorable traders, but covertly offered for sale in various places or distributed by peddlers, was obtained by secret and unlawful intercourse with the enemy.”
In July 1782 the “Association Against Illicit Trade” was formed in Norwich to vigorously oppose these illicit trade practices. Each member of the association, including John M. Breed, bound themselves by a solemn pledge of life, fortune, and honor to: 1) Support civil authority, 2) Have no interactions, either social or trade, with people who were known illicit traders, 3) Furnish men and boats to search out smugglers, 4) Donate all the seized goods to charitable purposes.
John M. Breed was born in Stonington. When he was 12 years old, his father built the family residence on the corner of Washington, Main & Church Street, near the present-day location of the Flat Iron Building. It is believed that John lived there as a teenager with his family.
He died at the young age of 50, and is buried in the Norwich City Cemetery.
Acknowledgements
“History of Norwich, Connecticut: From Its Possession From the Indians, to the Year 1866”, pp 398 and 625, by Frances Manwaring Caulkins
“History of New London County, Connecticut: With Biographical Sketches of Many of Its Pioneers and Prominent Men”, page 39, by Duane Hamilton Hurd
Wikipedia
The complete list of sources may be found by clicking the “Bibliography” button, and, then entering “John McLaren Breed” in the SEARCH box.
Mayor of Norwich (1798-1813)
Elisha Hyde (b.1751-d.1813)
Elisha Hyde lived with his family lived in a home, built by his father, near Bean Hill. Frances Manwaring Calkins noted that, ”He was a lawyer of good repute, universally popular in his native town for his urbanity, genial temperament, and overflowing benevolence of heart.”
Mayor Hyde was a Republican Representative to the General Assembly of CT in 1768-1803. In 1802, he was endorsed by President Thomas Jefferson and the Secretary of the State of Connecticut, to become the Commissioner of Bankruptcy for Connecticut. However, Mr. Hyde declined the position, noting that many of his Republican friends urged him to retain his seat in the legislature instead of serving as a commissioner.
Hyde observed that there were too many in the state government who felt “very uncandid towards the present Administration”. He would have “an opportunity to be more active in favor of the present measures of the General Government”.
Elisha Hyde served as the Mayor of Norwich until the day of his death. He died on December 16, 1813 and his obituary was printed in the Norwich Courier December 22, 1813 issue. He is buried in Old Norwichtown Burial Ground.
Acknowledgements
“History of Norwich, Connecticut: From Its Possession From the Indians, to the Year 1866”, page 40, by Frances Manwaring Caulkins
The Papers of Thomas Jefferson, Vol. 38 (1802)
Bob Dees
The complete list of sources may be found by clicking the “Bibliography” button, and, then entering “Elisha Hyde” in the SEARCH box.
Mayor of Norwich (1814-1831)
Calvin Goddard (b.1768-d.1842)
Calvin Goddard served as the Mayor of Norwich for 17 years, the longest term ever served by any Norwich mayor. He was both a lawyer and a successful politician.
He was born in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, and as a young man attended Plainfield Academy in Plainfield, Connecticut. After graduating from Dartmouth College and being admitted to the bar, he commenced to practice law in Plainfield.
Four years later, in 1795, he began a political career as a member of the Federalist Political Party. The table below provides a timeline for some of his accomplishments and duties.
| Year | Activity |
|---|---|
| 1786 | Graduated from Dartmouth College |
| 1790 | Admitted to the bar |
| 1791 | Commenced law practice in Plainfield, CT |
| 1795-1801 | Member of the CT State House of Representatives |
| 1801-1805 | Member of the U.S. Eighth and Ninth Congresses |
| 1807 | Speaker of the CT State House of Representatives |
| 1807 | Moved to Norwich and resumed the practice of law |
| 1812 | Presidential elector |
| 1814-1815 | Delegate to the Hartford Convention |
| 1815 & 1818 | Judge of the Superior Court |
| 1814-1831 | Mayor of Norwich |
| 1833 | Defended Prudence Crandall in a civil rights case |
Calvin Goddard moved to Norwich in 1807 and resumed both his law practice and political career.
In 1833 he defended Prudence Crandall in what is considered as one of the first civil rights cases in the United States. She had been jailed and brought up on charges of violating Connecticut’s “Black Law” which prohibited the teaching of black students without local permission. When she admitted Sarah Harris to her school, she created what is considered the first integrated classroom in the United States. He defended the case twice before Connecticut’s Supreme Court. Eventually the court threw out the case out on a technicality. Please click here for more info.
Goddard purchased sixteen acres of land and a house from Captain Daniel Dunham in Norwich. The Goddard family lived there for nearly forty years. The tract of land he purchased included a Mohegan burial ground. Many years later, in 1928, the land was used as the site for the Masonic Somerset Lodge #34. The same plot was sold to the Mohegan tribe in 1999. In 2006 the lodge was razed. Subsequently, in 2008, a memorial park honoring the Mohegan Burial Ground was established and blessed by the tribe.
Calvin Goddard died in Norwich on May 2, 1842. He and his wife Alice Cogswell Hart Goddard, are buried in the Norwich City Cemetery.
Acknowledgements
Wikipedia
“History of New London County, Connecticut: With Biographical Sketches of Many of Its Pioneers and Prominent Men”, page 276, by Duane Hamilton Hurd
Bob Dees
The complete list of sources may be found by clicking the “Bibliography” button, and, then entering “Calvin” in the SEARCH box.
Mayor of Norwich (1831-1834)
James Lanman (b.1769-d.1841)
James Lanman was the Mayor of Norwich from 1831-1834. He was both a lawyer and a politician. He was also a cousin of both President John Adams and President John Quincy Adams.
After graduating Phi Beta Kappa from Yale College in 1788, he was admitted to the bar in 1791. Shortly thereafter, he began practicing law in Norwich, where he acquired great local distinction for his eloquence and general ability.
Mr. Lanman, a member of the Democratic-Republican Party, was elected to the United States Senate 1819-1825. He was known as the last Senator to wear a powdered wig, ruffle shirts and knee breeches. In 1826-1829 he served as a judge of the State Superior and Supreme Courts.
He began his first term as a U.S. Senator in March of 1819, twelve years before he became Mayor of Norwich, and forty two years before the Civil War began.
In the 1819 slavery had already become an important, controversial issue. In that time period, the Missouri Compromise, was a hotly debated issue in the U.S. Senate. The proposed bill would admit Maine to the United States as a free state and would admit Missouri as a slave state. Many people in the Northern states did not approve of the measure due the inclusion of Missouri as a slave state.
James Lanman voted for the Missouri Compromise. Later in 1901, the Connecticut Magazine noted that Lanman’s grandson said, “My grandfather, James Lanman, voted with the South on the Missouri Compromise and was burned in effigy in his native town, Norwich, but his broad patriotism won for him the warmest friendship of Henry Clay and Thomas H. Benton”.
However, the citizens of Norwich forgave him. They elected him as Mayor in 1831. During his tenure as mayor of Norwich, he gave an eloquent speech in Norwich commemorating the 100th Anniversary of George Washington’s birthday. The speech, (Info Source 2), reviewed Washington’s military and civic contributions to the founding of the United States.
When his father, shipping magnate Peter Lanman, died in 1804, James inherited and moved into his childhood home, the now historic “Peter Lanman House” on Main Street, for the rest of his life. A nearby tavern (now the Norwich Savings Society) at “Peter Lanman’s Corner”, at Main and Broadway in Norwich, is of interest because George Washington stayed there in 1775.
James Lanman’s son, Charles James Lanman, also became one of Norwich’s mayors.
Acknowledgements
Wikivisualy.com
Wikipedia
The complete list of sources may be found by clicking the “Bibliography” button, and, then entering “James Lanman” in the SEARCH box.
Mayor of Norwich (1834-1835)
Francis Asher Perkins (b.1784-d.1864)
Francis A. Perkins served as Mayor of Norwich for one year. Most of his career was focused on banking and finance. He began his career in banking as a cashier from 1822-1833 at the Norwich Bank.
In 1833 he was chosen as a Director of the First National Bank, and, later he worked in the Norwich Savings Society in several different capacities:
1) Secretary: 1847-1863
2) Treasurer: 1824-1833
3) President: 1833-1835
At one point in his career, he was also a broker in Boston.
Throughout his lifetime Francis Asher Perkins was devoted to the interests of religion and humanity. He was upright in conduct, with a genial disposition and well-cultivated mind. He was a beloved officer in the church, a diligent student and acceptable teacher of Bible truth.
He is buried in the Yantic Cemetery.
Acknowledgements
“History of Norwich, Connecticut: From Its Possession From the Indians, to the Year 1866”, pp 626,649, by Frances Manwaring Caulkins
“History of New London County, Connecticut: With Biographical Sketches of Many of Its Pioneers and Prominent Men”, page 305, by Duane Hamilton Hurd
Bob Dees
Mayor of Norwich (1835-1838) and (1846-1847) Charles William Rockwell (b.1799-d.1866)
Charles W. Rockwell was a native of Norwich who was elected Mayor of Norwich twice. He was both a politician and a railroad man. Rockwell spent a large portion of his mature life in the South and West. However, while he lived in Norwich, from 1830-1850, he heartily entered into the duties of citizenship and was distinguished for liberality and public spirit.
Charles W. Rockwell and his brother John A. Rockwell were actively involved in various enterprises having to do with the westward expansion, including land development, railroads, transportation, banking, etc. In 1836 they founded the Rockwell Land Company with the purpose of land development in La Salle County, Illinois.
He envisioned the importance of rail transportation in the Norwich area and embarked on its construction with an interest that merged his financial resources in the undertaking. The railroad proved to be very beneficial to Norwich.
Mr. Rockwell held several public offices:
He was elected as representative to the state legislature three times
1824 – Was one of the Incorporators of the Norwich Savings Society
1837 – President of the Norwich & Worcester Railroad Company
1840 – United States Commissioner of Customs at Washington, D.C.
1840 – American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions
He and his wife Emiline Hall are buried in Yantic Cemetery.
Acknowledgements
“History of Norwich, Connecticut: From Its Possession From the Indians, to the Year 1866”, pp 591 and 629, by Frances Manwaring Caulkins
Bob Dees
Connecticut Historical Society
The complete extensive list of sources may be found by clicking the “Bibliography” button, and, then entering “Rockwell” in the SEARCH box.