Herman Frederick Newblock was an American politician and police officer who served as the 16th and 19th Mayor of Tulsa from 1922 to 1928 and 1932 to 1934. He is one of two mayors, the other being John O. Mitchell, who served non-consecutive terms. According to the city of

Tulsa Tulsa ( ) is the second-most-populous city in the state of Oklahoma, after Oklahoma City, and the 48th-most-populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tul ...

, he was known as "Tulsa's Grand Old Man of Politics" and Newblock Park is named after him.

Biography

Herman Frederick Newblock was born on January 12, 1867, in

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

, to Henry Newblock and Elizabeth Wagner. Newblock's family moved to

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

Fayetteville, Arkansas Fayetteville ( ) is the List of cities and towns in Arkansas, second-most populous city in the U.S. state of Arkansas, the county seat of Washington County, Arkansas, Washington County, and the most populous city in Northwest Arkansas. The city ...

, Falls County, Texas, before settling in Cleveland County,

Oklahoma Territory The Territory of Oklahoma was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 2, 1890, until November 16, 1907, when it was joined with the Indian Territory under a new constitution and admitted to the Union as ...

in 1894. He became the

sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland, the , which is common ...

of Cleveland County in 1895. He briefly operated a hardware store in Sulpher,

Chickasaw Nation The Chickasaw Nation () is a federally recognized Indigenous nation with headquarters in Ada, Oklahoma, in the United States. The Chickasaw Nation descends from an Indigenous population historically located in the southeastern United States, in ...

before settling in

in 1905. He was appointed Tulsa's police chief in 1907 and served until October 1908 when he was appointed to succeed Lon Lewis as

Tulsa County Tulsa County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 669,279, making it the second-most populous county in the state, behind only Oklahoma C ...

sheriff. In 1911 he left the sheriff's office to return to his previous position as chief of police. He left again in 1914 to work for Producers National Bank until 1917. From 1917 to 1921 he was Tulsa's finance commissioner. In 1922 Newport, a Democrat, was elected as the 16th mayor of Tulsa in 1922 and served until 1928. In 1924, the

Spavinaw Water Project The Spavinaw Water Project was established to provide fresh water for Tulsa, Oklahoma from a site on Spavinaw Creek near the town of Spavinaw in Mayes County, Oklahoma. Planning and financing began in 1919, The project scope included site select ...

finished development providing water for the city. In 1927, Newblock Park was named after him. He was elected to his second tenure as mayor from 1932 to 1934. He died on August 19, 1957, in Tulsa. According to the city of

, he was known as "Tulsa's Grand Old Man of Politics."

Family

He married Addie Gardner on March 4, 1897.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Newblock, Herman Frederick 1867 births 1957 deaths 20th-century mayors of places in Oklahoma People from Pittsburgh People from Indian Territory Mayors of Tulsa, Oklahoma Oklahoma sheriffs Oklahoma Democrats Politicians from Tulsa, Oklahoma