The city of Poplar Bluff, Missouri, United States, is the sixth-most populous city in Missouri's 8th congressional district and southeastern Missouri.

The town was started in 1850. The city was incorporated on February 9, 1870.

List of mayors

Mayor Took office Left office Additional information Joseph T. Davison (1846-1915) 1883 Ohio-born American Civil war veteran who served in the 68th Illinois Infantry and the 3rd Illinois Cavalry before moving to Poplar Bluff in 1874. He had been a member of the Missouri House of Representatives. Thomas Hugh Moore (1846-1899) 1887 1887 In 1896, this general mercantile store operator was appointed Butler County collector by Governor William Stone. James Robert Hogg (1863-1934) 1897 1897 Farmer, meat merchant, sheriff, and distillery owner originally from Indiana. Dr. Alex W. Davidson (1853-1934) c.1901 Alex W. Davidson was born 1853 in Hickman County, Tennessee, the eldest of eleven children. He studied medicine under his father and entered the American Medical College of St. Louis, graduating in 1876. Ed L. Abington (1867-1955) c. 1902 He was born in St. Charles County, Missouri. He was president of the Bank of Poplar Bluff around 1949. John W. Berryman (c. 1869-1940) c. 1909 c. 1911 Robert G. Felts (1861-1918) c. 1914 John W. Berryman (c. 1869-1940) c. 1917 c. 1919 (He previously served as mayor.) Edgar G. Hammons (1881-1938) c. 1926 John W. Berryman (c. 1869-1940) c. 1927 (He previously served as mayor.) Bayles Kennedy Flannery (1889-1957) c. 1929 He was born near Golconda, Illinois. Dr. Zera Lee Stokely (1895-1974) c. 1931 Dentist and postmaster. Clyde E. Richardson (1906-1977) 1945 A banker who previously resigned as mayor to join the Army Finance Corps during World War II. Arch W. Bartlett (1901-1985) 1945 1946 Clyde E. Richardson (1906-1977) 1947 1949 (He previously served as mayor.) E. W. Robinson (c.1901-1956) He died following surgery for a lung tumor. Arch W. Bartlett (1901-1985) 1953 1953 (He previously served as mayor.) E. W. Robinson (c.1901-1956) 1954 1956 (He previously served as mayor.) John S. West (1923-2015) 1957 1963 Former First Sergeant in US Army who served in the Pacific during World War II. Former co-owner of Bluff City Motors. Walter F. Thies (1921-2011) He served as a U.S. Navy fighter pilot during World War II. Robert L. Odell U.S. Navy veteran of World War II and the Korean War J. C. Allen 1963 1967 Earl C. Porter (1913-1988) 1967 1970 Louie N. Snider (1923-2013) 1970 c. 1971 The first mayor of the present form of city government. Snider served in the Battle of the Bulge under General Patton. Harold Jackson (1929-2021) 1971 1972 He owned a car dealership and served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War. Bernard R. Wheetley (1919-2003) 1973 1975 Delegate to Republican National Convention from Missouri, 1964. Paul Henry Hillis (1921-2016) 1975 1975 Hillis joined the Seabees during World War II. Dean of Three Rivers Community College. Bill I. Foster (1946-2025) 1979 1980 Missouri state senator, 2001-2005; Missouri state representative, 1993-2001. Foster also served in the National Guard. Gerald Lynn Rains (1947-2019) 1980 1981 Former Butler County Clerk, 1982-1986. He died at his home in Piedmont, Missouri. Bill Sparks 1981 1982 Sparks served on the planning commission for Russellville, Arkansas, for 17 years. Thomas F. Allen (1931-2012) 1983 1984 Assistant Superintendent of Poplar Bluff public schools. Bruce E. Holloway (born c. 1952) Bill Sparks 1985 1986 (He previously served as mayor.) Robert P. MacDonald 1987 1988 Calvin M. Rutledge 1988 1989 Rutledge resigned during a later term to become director of the Black River Coliseum. Thomas J. Lawson (born 1932) Lawson has also served as Poplar Bluff city manager and as chairman of the Highway 67 Corporation Board and the Highway 67 Coalition. Betty Absheer (1936-2021) 1993 1994 Betty Absheer was the first woman to serve as Mayor of Poplar Bluff. She was appointed to the City Council in 1989 and subsequently elected to a full term. She retired from the City Council in 2016. Council members elected her to one-year terms as mayor in 1993, 1996, 2000, 2006, and 2015. Ron Black 1996 Betty Absheer (1936-2021) 1996 1997 Chris Rustin 1998 Reid Forrester (born c. 1960) 2000 Poplar Bluff City Council, 1996-2002. In 2005, he was appointed to the Board of Probation and Parole. Chief of Staff to Lieutenant Governor Peter D. Kinder since 2015. Calvin Rutledge 2000 2000 (He previously served as mayor, 1988-1989.) Johnny Brannum 2000 Scott Faughn (born 1980) 2002 2005 Faughn was elected the city's youngest mayor at age 22. Loyd Lee Matthews (1934-2014) Matthews served 3 years as mayor and 12 years on the city council. He served 4 years in the U.S. Navy around the time of the Korean War. Betty Absheer (1936-2021) 2006 2007 Susan Williams-McVey c. 2007 Ed DeGaris (1954-2022) 2011 2014 Retired police lieutenant who was elected to the City Council in 2009. Angela Pearson (1983-2016) 2014 2015 The city's youngest female mayor. Betty Absheer (1936-2021) 2015 2016 With Councilwoman Angela Pearson absent for health reasons, the city council was deadlocked and unable to elect a mayor. All council members' names were put in a cup, and Ms. Absheer's name was drawn out of the cup by city attorney Robert L. Smith. Thus, she became the mayor for the 2015-2016 term. Ed DeGaris (1954-2022) 2016 (He previously served as mayor, 2011-2014.) Robert Smith 2019 2021 First African-American mayor. Steve Davis 2021 2023 Shane Cornman 2023

Notable city managers for Poplar Bluff

Poplar Bluff adopted the city manager form of government in 1969.

City managers Took office Left office Additional information David W. Pence 1969 1978 He previously served as city manager for Excelsior Springs, Missouri, and Flat River, Missouri. Joe A. Michie 1982 1984 He also served as city manager for Lockhart, Texas; New Braunfels, Texas; and Mineral Wells, Texas. Marion LaVern "Vern" Bechtel c. 1986 c. 1987 He had previously been the city manager for Hendersonville, North Carolina. Thomas J. Lawson c. 1990 c. 2002 He served as city manager for 12 years after retiring in 1988 as the superintendent of the Hazelwood School District. Doug Bagby 2003 2014 Replaced by interim city manager Mark Massingham. Heath Kaplan 2014 2015 He served as city manager for 9 months. Replaced by assistant city manager Mark Massingham as interim city manager. Mark Massingham 2015 2020 He was originally the interim city manager. Matt Winters 2020 2024 Winters became city administrator of Jackson, Missouri.Replaced by city clerk Lori Phelps. Robert Knodell 2025 2026 He previously served as deputy chief of staff to Governor Mike Parson.Replaced by assistant city manager Lori Phelps.

References Missouri Secretary of State official manuals

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