Physical Format: Drawings (visual works) / Keywords: Duluth mayors

Date Created:: 1874?
Description:: Dr. Vespasian Smith was the third mayor of Duluth. Born Oct. 21, 1818 in Mt. Vernon, Ohio, he earned a medical degree from Western Reserve College in 1851 and practiced in Ohio and Superior, Wisconsin before moving to Duluth. In 1860 he received a government appointment to serve as physician to the Indians at the Bayfield Agency. It is said that there were no votes opposing his first election to mayor, in 1873, except his own. He was re-elected the following year. The financial panic of 1873 and dire financial circumstances of Duluth itself made for difficult mayoral terms, but he was said to have been a man of great common sense who was well suited to lead during such times. He also served on the State Board of Health for twenty years. Dr. Smith died in Duluth on Oct. 11, 1897.
Contributing Institution:: Duluth Public Library
Type:: Still Image
Format:: Drawings (visual works)

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