Politics / Business & brands
De Garmo Jones
1787–1846 · businessman, mayor of Detroit, state senator
Hard-driving Detroit entrepreneur, railroad director and builder of Michigan's first capitol, who served as mayor in 1839.
- Born
Albany, New York- Died
Detroit, Michigan
aged 59- Detroit years
- 1819–1846
- Field
- Politics, Business & brands
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
De Garmo Jones passed through Detroit as an army sutler in the War of 1812 and returned with his new wife, Catherine Annin, in 1819. He bought a farm just west of the old town, between today's Third Avenue and Fourth Street, and as the city grew over it the land made his family rich. His interests ranged widely: he was among the first stockholders of the Bank of Michigan and the first directors of the Detroit and St. Joseph Railroad, the future Michigan Central; he developed copper mines on Lake Superior, invested in shipping, warehousing and construction, and built Michigan's first capitol building in Detroit. A Whig, he sat on the city council several times, was territorial adjutant general in 1829, mayor in 1839 and a state senator in 1840–1841. A contemporary called him a 'western Vanderbilt' with a quick temper and a far-seeing mind. He died in 1846, leaving a large estate.
Highlights
- Mayor of Detroit in 1839
- Built Michigan's first capitol building in Detroit
- Early director of the railroad that became the Michigan Central
- Michigan state senator, 1840–1841