This year marks the 125th anniversary of Greenville's incorporation as a city.
Because of this anniversary it might be a good time to briefly run down the list of the city's mayors
over the years.
James Bradford was Greenville's first mayor. He was named in a special election in 1872 and
served until 1873. He was also mayor from 1875 to 1877. Bradford was founder of the Bradford
and Son's Bank and also served in the state legislature.
The second mayor, J. S. Denny, served from 1873 to 1875. He was the Bond County clerk. G.
W. Miller, who operated a drug store, served from 1877 to 1879.
C. D. Hoiles was mayor from 1879 to 1887. He was co-founder of the State Bank of Hoiles and
Sons and also served in the state legislature. Mayor from 1887 to 1889 was businessman U. B.
Harris.
Dr. W. A. Allen, a physician, was mayor from 1889 to 1891. Serving from 1891 to 1893 was J.
M. Miller, a businessman, property owner and attorney. J. Seaman, a prominent merchant, was
mayor from 1893 to 1897.
Ed DeMoulin, a photographer and later founder of DeMoulin Bros. and Co., served from 1897 to
1901 and then from 1903 to 1905. He also filled a mayoral vacancy from 1905 to 1907.
F. P. Joy, founder of F. P. Joy and Co., a major retail establishment, was mayor from 1901 to
1903. Elected in 1905 was W. A. Orr, but he resigned shortly after taking office to move to
Springfield to practice law. He also had been a faculty member at Greenville College.
Serving briefly as acting mayor was J. E. Wafer, a contractor and builder. Ed DeMoulin then filled
out the remainder of the term. A businessman, E. M. Gullick, was in office from 1907 to 1911.
Dr. A. M. Keith was mayor from 1911 to 1915 and again from 1917 to 1919. Keith was a
physician and also was president of the Bond County Telephone and Telegraph Co. Serving from
1915 to 1917 was Fred Durr, a landowner and harness shop owner.
S. W. Andrews, president of the Model Glove Co., a major manufacturing plant, served from
1919 to 1921. D. A. Wise was in office from 1921 to 1927. Wise had been a farmer and later
was in the real estate business.
George V. Weise held the position from 1927 to 1931. He operated the George V. Weise Co.
retail firm. Serving from 1931 to 1933 and from 1935 to 1937 was George L. Stone. He had been
manager of the local telephone company and he later operated a service station.
Lee Loyd was mayor from 1933 to 1935.He had served as city clerk and was owner of Lee Loyd
and Sons Trucking Co. He also had operated a bakery, restaurant and grocery business.
A veterinarian, Dr. B. E. Wise (the son of Mayor D. A. Wise) served from 1937 to 1945.
(Starting in 1937 mayoral terms were for four years, instead of two.)
Mayor from 1945 to 1953 was R. A. Genre, owner of Genre Clothing Co. Paul Zeeb, owner of
Greenville Machine Shop, held the office from 1953 to 1957.
The first mayor under the council-city manager plan was Foy Meyer from 1957 to 1961. He was
owner of Foy Meyer Insurance Agency. Then, from 1961 to 1969 Gerald Turley, a barber, was
mayor.
Robert Adcock, who was involved in construction, was elected in 1969, but resigned in 1972. The
vacancy was filled by Glen Hickey, who was elected mayor in 1973 and served until 1977. He
owned Hickey's Restaurant.
Charles Ireland was mayor from 1977 until 1989. Ireland was a teacher and administrator in Bond
County Community Unit No.2. Eldon Turley served from 1989 to 1997. He was engaged in
farming.
Elected mayor in 1997 was Gordon Corning, purchasing manager for Nevco Scoreboard Co. NOTE: Elected mayor in 2001 was Harold Palmer, a former Greenville city
manager. He resigned in 2002 and Alan Gaffner, a member of the City
Council, was appointed to replace him, and in 2003 he was elected to fill out the remainder of the
term.
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