Joseph Henry Bunce (December 15, 1823 – February 27, 1908) was an American politician who served as the 19th mayor of Louisville, Kentucky, from 1869 to 1870.

Biography Joseph Henry Bunce was born on December 15, 1823, in New York.Longmont Ledger (Longmont, Boulder County), February 28, 1908 He was a steamboat captain until the mid-1860s, when he founded a wholesale grocery firm. Typical of Louisville steamboat captains, he lived with his family in the Portland district.

A Democrat, he ran against future mayor John G. Baxter and police chief Robert Gilchriest in 1869. Despite not being endorsed by the Democratic Party or The Courier-Journal, Bunce won by 300 votes over Baxter.

He was elected to a two-year term, but the city charter was changed in 1870 to allow for a three-year term and Bunce chose to run again for a new term, and was defeated this time by Baxter.

In 1888, he built the first area school near Allenspark, Colorado, which is still known as the Bunce school. He was appointed postmaster of the Bunce station in October 1895.#770-O Carnegie Branch Library for Local History, Boulder, Colorado In 1896 he was justice of the peace for Allenspark and Jamestown.Boulder Daily Camera (Boulder, Boulder County), September 21, 1896 Bunce was a significant figure in Allenspark history, homesteading near there in 1897.BLM Gov't. Land Office #COCOAA 037544

Around 1900, he moved to Lyons, Colorado, where he was elected justice of the peace in 1901 and later mayor.

Bunce married Josephine Mullins (1828–1882) and had four children who survived, Mary Alice, Charles William, Harriet Archer, and Marshall Halbert. On January 9, 1886, he married Henrietta Truitt (1831–1925) in Boulder County, Colorado.Boulder County Colorado Clerk and Recorder

He died on February 27, 1908, in Lyons.

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