Walter Lenox (August 17, 1817 – July 16, 1874) was mayor of Washington, D.C., from 1850 to 1852. He was the only mayor of

Washington City Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

born within the city and one of just two born in the

District of Columbia Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...

Early life

Lenox was born in the City of Washington on August 17, 1817, the son of Captain Peter Lenox and Margaret Wilkerson Lenox. He was the first mayor to be born in the city of Washington, graduating from

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

in 1837 and returning to the

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to practice law in the early 1840s. During at last part of that period, he lived with future Washington mayor

Richard Wallach Richard Wallach (April 3, 1816 – March 4, 1881) was an American politician who served as the nineteenth and first Republican Mayor of Washington, D.C. History Wallach was born in Alexandria, Virginia in 1816, when it was still part of the D ...

.Records of the Columbia Historical Society, Washington, Volume 20 By Columbia Historical Society
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Political career

Lenox served on the Washington city council (the lower of its two legislative chambers) from 1842 to 1843, then as an Alderman from 1843 to 1849, serving his last term as President of the Board of Aldermen. Thus when mayor

William Winston Seaton William Winston Seaton (January 11, 1785 – June 16, 1866) was an American journalist and the thirteenth mayor of Washington, D.C. Life William Winston Seaton was born in King William County, Virginia. His mother's maiden name was Winston and ...

declined to run for a sixth term in 1850, Lenox was the

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— although because of his young age (only 33), he was dismissed by many residents of the city, particularly when the popular former mayor Roger C. Weightman announced his intention to seek the office again. Ultimately, Lenox won the election by 32 votes. Lenox's term as mayor was of little note; his most prominent accomplishments were his presiding at the laying of the cornerstone of the extension to the U.S. Capitol, service on the

Washington Monument The Washington Monument is an obelisk on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., built to commemorate George Washington, a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father of the United States, victorious commander-in-chief of the Continen ...

Association, and proclamation of an official day of mourning for the deceased

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Zachary Taylor Zachary Taylor (November 24, 1784 – July 9, 1850) was an American military officer and politician who was the 12th president of the United States, serving from 1849 until his death in 1850. Taylor was a career officer in the United States ...

. The records of the Columbia Historical Society also note that he was "deeply concerned with the education of the youth. He gave greater attention to the public school question than any other." Lenox was a Whig, which became a liability in the mayoral election of 1852 (the year in which the Whig Party collapsed). His Democratic opponent, John Walker Maury, defeated Lenox by almost 900 votes.

Later life

After his mayoralty, Lenox married but became a widower after only eighteen months. In January 1855, he married Rachel Ludlow (the sister of William H. Ludlow, Speaker of the New York Legislative Assembly). She and their first-born child died in July 1856. Lenox, who as mayor in 1851 had opposed the creation of the

Normal School for Colored Girls Normal School for Colored Girls was established in Washington, D.C., in 1851 as an institution of learning and training for young African-American women, especially to train teachers. It was the first normal school in the District of Columbia and ...

, the first normal school in the city, wrote to a local paper in 1859 to oppose the school's move to a larger facility. Of African Americans in D.C., he wrote: "Their number, originally too large in proportion to our white population, is increasing rapidly both by their natural increase and from immigration. Justice to ourselves and kindness to them require that we should prohibit immigration and encourage their removal from our limits. Now, it is plainly manifest that the success of this school enterprise must largely increase our

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population by the inducements it offers. The schools will be increased with the demand. It will bring not only scholars to remnain temporarily, but entire families, until our District is inundated with them". Lenox sympathized with and supported the Confederacy. In June 1861, after the occupation of Alexandria by Union forces during the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

, he moved to Richmond where he organized other "refugees" from DC, Maryland and Delaware. Upon returning to Washington in October 1863 to settle the estate of a deceased relative, he spoke openly in contempt of the Union and was arrested and imprisoned by his old friend,

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Winfield Scott Winfield Scott (June 13, 1786May 29, 1866) was an American military commander and political candidate. He served as Commanding General of the United States Army from 1841 to 1861, and was a veteran of the War of 1812, American Indian Wars, Mexica ...

. He spent the next 20 months in the prison at

Fort McHenry Fort McHenry is a historical American Coastal defense and fortification, coastal bastion fort, pentagonal bastion fort on Locust Point, Baltimore, Locust Point, now a neighborhood of Baltimore, Maryland. It is best known for its role in the War ...

and was released in October 1865, half a year after the war ended. Lenox's health suffered after prison, and he died in 1874 at the age of 57. He was interred at

Rock Creek Cemetery Rock Creek Cemetery is an cemetery with a natural and rolling landscape located at Rock Creek Church Road, NW, and Webster Street, NW, off Hawaii Avenue, NE, in the Petworth (Washington, D.C.), Petworth neighborhood of Washington, D.C., across ...

in Washington.

Legacy

In 1887, the Walter Lenox School at 5th and G SE opened and was named in his honor. It closed in 1931 and the building served various non-profit organizations until the late 1990s when it was sold for development. In 2006 it opened as condominiums.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lenox, Walter 1817 births 1874 deaths 19th-century mayors of Washington, D.C. Confederate States Army personnel American Civil War prisoners of war Burials at Rock Creek Cemetery Yale University alumni