Politics / Press & broadcasting / Business & brands
Andrew Mack
1780–1854 · sea captain, customs collector, newspaper owner, mayor of Detroit
Globe-circling sailor and Ohio businessman who became Detroit's customs collector, co-owned the early Free Press and was elected mayor in a special election in 1834.
- Born
New London, Connecticut- Died
Marysville, Michigan- Detroit years
- 1829–1840s
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Andrew Mack sailed around the world three times as a young man, drove a flock of Spanish merino sheep to Ohio, and ran a wool factory and hotel in Cincinnati, where he served on the city council and in the state senate. In 1829 President Andrew Jackson appointed him customs collector of Detroit, a post he held for ten years, and his militia role earned him the title 'Colonel.' He was one of the local investors who bought the young Democratic Free Press, the future Detroit Free Press, in 1832 and owned it until 1837. When Mayor Charles Trowbridge resigned during the 1834 cholera epidemic, Mack won the special election with 91 votes, but he lost his re-election bid the following year and again in 1837. In the 1840s he moved to St. Clair County, where his sawmill and store grew into the town of Marysville. Contrary to legend, Mack Avenue is named after a different Mack.
Highlights
- Mayor of Detroit in 1834, elected in a special election
- Customs collector of Detroit, 1829–1839
- Co-owner of the early Detroit Free Press, 1832–1837
- His St. Clair County settlement became Marysville