Thomas Howe Scanlan (November 10, 1832 – July 9, 1906) was a mayor of

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. He supported the Union during

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, and was installed as an alderman and mayor during that period. As well as investing in real estate, he owned stakes in local companies, including rail transportation and utilities.

Early life and family

Thomas Howe Scanlan was born on November 10, 1832 in Castle Mahon,

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, Ireland. He moved to New York at the age of seven. Scanlan married Harmena Ebert on April 28, 1861. They raised seven daughters who survived into adulthood.

Career

Scanlan moved to Houston to work as a merchant in 1853. Scanlan joined the

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at the dawn of Reconstruction, then two years later, accepted a position on

Houston City Council The Houston City Council is a city council for the city of Houston in the U.S. state of Texas. Currently, there are sixteen members, 11 elected from council districts and five at-large. The members of the Council are elected every four years, w ...

representing the Third Ward. The Reconstruction Governor appointed him mayor of Houston in 1870. After collecting opinions among financiers regarding Houston's good credit standing, Scanlan recommended issuing more bonds for capital projects, such as for paving, drainage, and a new city hall complex. He characterized his own approach to public spending as prioritizing function over aesthetics, and evaluated many materials and processes to street improvement. However, his critics noted the extravagant design and cost of the Houston building housing city hall, the market house, and theater. Scanlan advocated for the purchase of lands for three parks, later indebting the City by constructing a City Hall and Market House in 1872. Scanlan invested in rail ventures, including the

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and an early streetcar enterprise, the Bayou City Street Railway Company. His business activities included utility companies, such as the

Houston Water Works Company Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...

and the Houston Gas Company, where he served as Vice-President. He was Houston Postmaster General from 1875 through 1879.

Death and legacy

Scanlan died in Chicago on July 9, 1906. He is interred at Glenwood Cemetery in Houston. The

Scanlan Building The Scanlan Building is a building in Downtown Houston. History The building was first envisioned by Thomas Howe Scanlan, two-time mayor of Houston, to be built on the property he owned at Main and Preston streets. After his death in 1906, hi ...

, a NRHP-listed property in

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, is located on land he purchased in 1865. His seven surviving daughters hired

Daniel Burnham Daniel Hudson Burnham (September 4, 1846 – June 1, 1912) was an American architect and urban designer. A proponent of the '' Beaux-Arts'' movement, he may have been, "the most successful power broker the American architectural profession has ...

to design the building and named it in their father’s honor. They donated proceeds from the building to charities. One of his surviving daughters, Lillian, established the Scanlan Foundation upon her death in 1947. Catholic institutions were the beneficiaries of the foundation. NRHP ID: 80004132. Slow downloads.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scanlan, Thomas Howe Mayors of Houston People of the Reconstruction Era 1832 births 1906 deaths Irish emigrants to the United States (before 1923) Irish unionists Burials at Glenwood Cemetery (Houston, Texas) Texas Republicans