Rapid City, South Dakota was founded in 1876 and was run by a village board of trustees until 1882, when John Richard Brennan, a member of the board and cofounder of the city, was chosen as mayor. Two months after the city was incorporated, Fred E. Stearns was elected mayor. The first form of elected government was mayor–council with an elected strong mayor. From 1910 to 1922, a city commission government was used. Later that year, the system of government was changed to council–manager. Rapid City returned to a mayor–council government in 1957. The Rapid City Council chose to extend the mayoral term to four years in 2015, and the change took effect in 2019. Former mayors Edward R. McLaughlin and Jim Shaw agreed with the change. There is no term limit.
List Name (term) Term Began Term End Notes John Richard Brennan 1882 1883 (1848–1919) One of four founders of the city in 1876 Fred E. Stearns 1883 1884 https://www.rcgov.org/index.php?option=com_docman&view=download&alias=21605-a-riding-and-walking-tour-of-the-west-boulevard-historic-district&category_slug=historic-preservation&Itemid=149 Known as the "cattle king of the foothills" James Halley II 1884 1886 (1854–1920) Andrew Jackson Simmons 1886 1887 (1834–1920) Born in New York, Simmons joined the California gold fields in 1853. He was speaker of territorial legislature of Nevada and mined at Alder Gulch in Montana in 1860's. He was colleague of Mark Twain. He was appointed Special Agent and titled Major by President Grant to obtain a right of way for railroad on a reservation, negotiating with Sitting Bull and other chiefs. In 1872, he took a part of the tribe members to Washington; Grant gave each an 1871 peace medal. Major Simmons was appointed Indian Agent at Milk River Agency Montana Territory. He arrived in Deadwood in 1878 engaging in mining activities including the Echo near Maitland. In 1882 he purchased 160 acres near the town site of Rapid City and built the Park Hotel. He donated land for the Missouri Valley Railroad. John F. Schrader 1887 1888 (1855–1934) David H. Clark 1888 1890 (1855–1891) James Moses Woods 1890 1894 Chauncey Lynch Wood (1) 1894 1896 First mayor to serve separate terms (1851–1911) Born in Jones County, Iowa; graduated from law school in 1875 and moved to Rapid City in 1878. Later moved to Seattle, where he died. Admitted to practice law before the United States Department of the Interior in 1901, also served as state's attorney in Pennington County. Was affiliated with the Socialist Party of America during the 1902 United States elections, represented the Democratic Party in the 1910 South Dakota gubernatorial election. Valentine McGillycuddy 1896 1898 (1849–1939) George B. Mansfield 1898 1899 Chauncey Lynch Wood (2) 1899 1900 Charles Wellington Brown 1900 1902 (1859–1912) Ferdinand N. Emrick 1902 1908 Dentist (d. 1930) Chauncey Lynch Wood (3) 1908 1910 Robert J. Jackson 1910 1912 Fred H. Rugg 1912 1914 Progressive Party presidential elector in 1912William E. Robinson 1914 1918 John L. Burke 1919 1920 Claude E. Gray 1920 1922 Harry Wentzy 1922 1924 Died in office John Abram Boland 1924 1925 (1884–1958) Charles Tittle 1925 1926 Arthur Lampert 1926 1927 Victor Jepson 1927 1928 Eugene Bangs 1928 1929 Theodore B. Werner 1929 1930 (1892–1989) Winfield Morrill 1930 1931 Melville Babington 1931 1932 Fred Merritt 1933 1934 Charles Leroy Doherty 1934 1936 (1889–1979)https://www.newspapers.com/image/351772299/?terms=Charles%20Doherty&match=1 Norbert De Kerchove 1937 1938 Robert S. Hill 1938 1943 (1883–1970) Therlo Burrington 1943 1944 Stanton Neil 1944 1946 Fred Dusek (1) 1946 1948 (1900–1984) Member of the Rapid City Common Council (1936–1947) Earl Brockelsby 1948 1949 Founded the Black Hills Reptile Gardens Isaac Chase 1949 1951 Augustus Haines 1951 1953 (1900–1991)https://www.newspapers.com/image/350944407/?terms=Augustus%20Haines%20died&match=1 Montford Wasser 1953 1954 Harry R. Johnson 1954 1955 Don L'Esperance 1955 1956 (1919–2008) Henry Jay Baker (1) 1956 1957 Fred Dusek (2) 1957 1961 Second and third terms. After serving his third term, also ran for the office in 1965 and 1975. Willis Raff 1961 1963 Phil Schroeder 1963 1965 introduced poverty reduction initiatives Henry Jay Baker (2) 1965 1969 Jack Allmon 1969 1970 John Barnes 1970 1971 Donald V. Barnett 1971 1975 Mayor at time of the Black Hills Flood of 1972, also known as the Rapid City Flood, with a death toll of more than 200 Arthur Lacroix 1975 1987 First and only Native American mayor of Rapid City. Keith Carlyle 1987 1991 Edward R. McLaughlin 1991 1997 (born 1928) Jim Shaw (1) 1997 2001 (1946–2024) Jerry Munson 2001 2003 (1955–2023) member and president of the Rapid City Common Council (1999–2001) owned a fishing boat dealership and outdoor advertising agency Jim Shaw (2) 2003 2007 Alan Hanks 2007 2011 (born 1960) Sam Kooiker 2011 2015 (born 1974) Steve Allender 2015 2023 Jason Salamun 2023 https://listen.sdpb.org/politics/2023-08-19/meet-rapid-citys-new-mayor References:
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