William Henry Eustis (July 17, 1845 – November 30, 1928) was the 17th

mayor of Minneapolis This is a list of mayors of Minneapolis, Minnesota. The current mayor is Jacob Frey (DFL). Minneapolis From 1867 to 1878 mayors were elected for a 1-year term. Beginning in 1878 the term was extended to 2 years. As the city became larger and mor ...

, Republican nominee for

Governor of Minnesota The governor of Minnesota is the head of government of the U.S. state of Minnesota, leading the state's executive branch. Forty people have been governor of Minnesota, though historically there were also three governors of Minnesota Territory. ...

in 1898, and a philanthropist.

Biography

Eustis was born in

Jefferson County, New York Jefferson County is a county on the northern border of the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 116,721. Its county seat is Watertown. The county is named after Thomas Jefferson, third President of the United Stat ...

on July 17, 1845. When he was 15 years old, he contracted a hip disease, which required him to walk with a cane and then with crutches. Eustis graduated from

Wesleyan University Wesleyan University ( ) is a Private university, private liberal arts college, liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut. Founded in 1831 as a Men's colleges in the United States, men's college under the auspices of the Methodist Epis ...

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

in 1873 and then got his law degree from

Columbia Law School Columbia Law School (Columbia Law or CLS) is the law school of Columbia University, a private Ivy League university in New York City. Columbia Law is widely regarded as one of the most prestigious law schools in the world and has always ranked i ...

the next year. He moved to

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

in 1881 and started dealing in real estate, becoming more well known as an owner of downtown buildings than as an attorney. He served as the mayor of Minneapolis for one term, 1893 through 1895. Later in life, he began to think about donating much of his wealth to charity, facetiously calling it "mostly unearned increment." In 1923, he bought of land on the west side of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...

and donated to the

Minneapolis School Board Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS) or Special School District Number 1 is a public school district serving students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade from Minneapolis, Minnesota. Minneapolis Public Schools enrolls 36,370 students in pub ...

for the site of the Michael Dowling School, devoted to the education of handicapped children. He subsequently donated the remaining of land, along with $900,000 in securities, to the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...

for a

hospital A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment with specialized health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically has an emerge ...

and

convalescent home A sanatorium (from Latin '' sānāre'' 'to heal, make healthy'), also sanitarium or sanitorium, are antiquated names for specialised hospitals, for the treatment of specific diseases, related ailments and convalescence. Sanatoriums are often ...

. He did not want the hospital to bear his name, instead preferring it to be called the "Minnesota Hospital and Home for Crippled Children." Eustis eventually donated his interest in the Flour Exchange Building and Corn Exchange Building to the university, along with the rental income. Hospital construction began on November 10, 1928, but by that time he was too ill to attend. Eustis died of heart disease on November 30, 1928. The hospital included an outpatient department, two floors of rooms for inpatient treatment, space for an on-site school, and an amphitheater for teaching purposes. The university eventually named the hospital after Eustis to recognize his generosity. When the Mayo Memorial Building on campus was completed in 1954, the Eustis Hospital, along with Elliot Hospital, were incorporated into the structure.

Electoral history

*Minneapolis Mayoral Election, 1892 **William H. Eustis 17,910 ** James C. Haynes 15,728 **Charles M. Way 1,842 **Theodore F. Stark 1,665

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eustis, William Henry Mayors of Minneapolis Wesleyan University alumni Columbia Law School alumni 1845 births 1928 deaths Minnesota Republicans