Selma Elected John M. Strong, As First Mayor

From "Selma; Her Institutions, and Her Men" by John Hardy, pub. 1879:

At the annual election for Mayor and five Councilmen for the city, held on the first Monday April, 1852, (the Legislature having changed the charter in 1851 form a town to that of a city, and making many other changes, among them those of electing a mayor by the people, increasing the Council to five members, and extending the limits of the corporation, taking in quite a large territory,) John M. Strong was elected Mayor R. N. Philpot, W. Plattenburg, Sidney O’Gilvie, D. C. Russel and Abner Jones Councilmen, Who organized by the election of James D. Monk, Clerk, Tax Assessor ad Collector, Joseph Hillyard, Marshal, and Abner Jones, Treasurer. This was the most important Council that had ever acted, and whose action has had much to do with the growth and financial affairs of the city. A Mr. Reed was contracted with to bore artesian wells in Broad street, one at the crossing of Alabama street and on at the foot of broad street. From these wells fine streams of pure water were soon flowing, and were for several years after a very attractive feature of the city. The Clerk, tax Assessor and Collector was required to give a bond of $3,000 and the Treasurer a bond of $1,000. The rate and subject of taxation were fixed, as well as prices of license for carrying on business within the city limits. John M. Strong was elected city auctioneer. The new market house, at the corner of Water and Washington streets, was finished, latticed and painted, and the price of the stalls fixed at $20.00 per month or $160.00 per year. John W. Lapsley and David A. Boyd placed their propositions before the Council to fill up the large wash at the foot of Broad street, on the bank of the river, by the erection of a substantial brick building, suitable for a warehouse or any other kind of business, the lot of land so to be occupied was 130 feet square, and for which the Council were to be paid $2,000. At the time and the land had washed away, and nearly one half of Water street going into Broad had washed so as to almost make it impassable. The children who had broken out glass in the Masonic Academy were fined, but the Council remitted the fines provided the parents of such children would whip them. An ordinance was adopted prohibiting negroes from hiring their won time The tax collector was authorized and instructed to compromise all the uncollected taxes of all previous years on the best terms he could, so as to place all the financial affairs of the city in a settled condition. A street tax of five dollars was imposed upon all the male inhabitants over twenty-one and under forty-five years of age. On the 30th day of August, 1852, the Council, by ordinance, subscribed $80,000 to capital stock of the Alabama and Tennessee Railroad Company, and issued that amount of coupon bonds running twenty years, bearing eight per cent. interest, to the railroad company to pay for the subscribed stock. This was done under the authority of an act of the State Legislature , amending the charter , approved 9th of February, 1852, and was the commencement of the present bonded indebtedness of the city. North street was opened from the Range Line road to the northwest corner of the city, 100 feet wide; numerous other streets were surveyed and opened for public use, and a decidedly improved appearance given to the city.

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