Augustus Garrett


Augustus Garrett was an American politician who twice served as Mayor of Chicago. He was a member of the Democratic Party.

Early life and career

Garrett married Eliza Clark in 1825 and moved to Chicago from New York in 1834. He had a small auction house near the Chicago River and by the following year had formed a partnership with the Brown Brothers, which allowed him to become a leading land speculator and auctioneer. By October 1836, he had sales of more than $1.8 million.
From 1840 through 1841, he served as Chicago alderman from the 2nd Ward.

Mayoralties

, Garrett ran unsuccessfully for Mayor of Chicago. He ran again in 1843 and was elected.
In 1844, Garrett initially won re-election, only to have the election invalidated based on charges of "illegal proceedings and fraud." Garrett ran in a second election that year, but lost to Alson Sherman.
Garrett was again elected mayor in 1845.
During his terms in office, Garrett pushed to have the first brick school in Chicago, Dearborn School, turned into either a warehouse or an insane asylum, believing that the building was too large for use as a school.

Death and legacy

Augustus Garrett died at the Sherman House Hotel in Chicago on November 30, 1848 and was buried in Rosehill Cemetery. Following his death, Eliza established the Garrett Bible Institute, now Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary, in nearby Evanston, Illinois.