# William Carr Lane

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2nd Territorial Governor of New Mexico and Former Mayor of St. Louis

This article is about the politician. For the labour organizer, see [William Lane](/source/William_Lane).

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William Carr Lane Carr as depicted in Volume 1 of 1909's St. Louis, the Fourth City, 1764-1909. 2nd Governor of New Mexico Territory In office July 15, 1852 – May 6, 1853 Appointed by Millard Fillmore Preceded by James S. Calhoun Succeeded by David Meriwether 1st Mayor of St. Louis, Missouri In office April 14, 1823 – 1829 Preceded by Office Established Succeeded by Daniel Page In office November 15, 1837 – 1840 Preceded by John Fletcher Darby Succeeded by John Fletcher Darby Personal details Born (1789-12-01)December 1, 1789 Fayette County, Pennsylvania, U.S. Died January 6, 1863(1863-01-06) (aged 73) St. Louis, Missouri, U.S. Party Whig[1] Spouse Mary Ewing Profession Medical doctor Signature

**William Carr Lane** (December 1, 1789 – January 6, 1863) was an American politician and medical doctor who was the first [mayor of St. Louis](/source/Mayor_of_St._Louis), Missouri, from 1823 to 1829 and 1837 to 1840. He later served as the [governor of New Mexico Territory](/source/Governor_of_New_Mexico_Territory) from 1852 to 1853.

## Biography

Born in [Fayette County, Pennsylvania](/source/Fayette_County%2C_Pennsylvania), to Presley Carr Lane and Sarah Stephenson, Lane attended college in [Pennsylvania](/source/Pennsylvania) and studied [medicine](/source/Medicine) in [Louisville, Kentucky](/source/Louisville%2C_Kentucky). He entered the [U.S. Army](/source/U.S._Army), and was appointed [post surgeon](/source/Surgeon) at [Fort Harrison](/source/Fort_Harrison) on the [Wabash River](/source/Wabash_River) north of [Terre Haute, Indiana](/source/Terre_Haute%2C_Indiana), in 1816. He resigned from the army in 1819 to enter private practice. He married on February 26, 1818, in [Vincennes, Indiana](/source/Vincennes%2C_Indiana), to Miss Mary Ewing, daughter of Nathaniel Ewing and Ann Breading. Their children were Anne Ewing Lane (1819–1904), Sarah L. Lane (1821–1887), and Victor Carr Lane (1831–1848).

Lane served as St. Louis's first mayor from 1823 to 1829, when the city's population was around 4,000. He oversaw the first public health system in the city, free public schools, and street improvements, including the paving of Main Street. Lane helped erect the city's first [town hall](/source/Town_hall). He was also instrumental in beautifying the city with fountains and greenery. The City Seal was adopted, and election procedures were written. Perhaps the most memorable event of his service was an 1825 visit by [Lafayette](/source/Gilbert_du_Motier%2C_marquis_de_Lafayette). Lane served again as mayor from 1837 to 1840.

In 1852, President [Millard Fillmore](/source/Millard_Fillmore) appointed him governor of the [New Mexico Territory](/source/New_Mexico_Territory). During his tenure, Lane seized disputed land in the [Mesilla Valley](/source/Mesilla_Valley) that he had no authority over. He sought to use the land as a route for the transcontinental railroad, but President [Franklin Pierce](/source/Franklin_Pierce) did not approve of the seizure. Further tensions over the disputed land were eased when [James Gadsden](/source/James_Gadsden) purchased it.[2] After this service, Lane returned to St. Louis and practiced medicine until his death in 1863. He was buried at [Bellefontaine Cemetery](/source/Bellefontaine_Cemetery).[3] A street in St. Louis is named in his honor.

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["William Carr Lane (1789-1863)"](http://archives.dickinson.edu/people/william-carr-lane-1789-1863). *[Dickinson College](/source/Dickinson_College)*. Retrieved April 21, 2021.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-NMHistory_2-0)** ["William Carr Lane"](https://newmexicohistory.org/2012/06/26/william-carr-lane/). *New Mexico History*. Retrieved September 7, 2021.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-stlouisgov_3-0)** ["Mayoral Spotlight: William Carr Lane"](https://www.stlouis-mo.gov/news-media/newsgram/mayoral-spotlight-william-carr-lane.cfm). *StLouis-MO.gov*. October 1, 2015. Retrieved September 8, 2021.

## Further reading

- Conard, Howard Louis (1901). [*Encyclopedia of the History of Missouri*](https://books.google.com/books?id=VGsUAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA569). Vol. 1. New York; Louisville; St. Louis: The Southern History Company. pp. 569–572. [OCLC](/source/OCLC_(identifier)) [32872107](https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/32872107).

- "Proceedings of the Board of Aldermen of the City of St. Louis". Daily Commercial Bulletin & Missouri Literary Register. November 14, 1837.

- "Proceedings of the Board of Aldermen of the City of St. Louis". *Daily Commercial Bulletin and Missouri Literary Register*. December 2, 1837.

- Twitchell, Ralph Emerson; Carr Lane, William (1917). *Historical Sketch of Governor William Carr Lane*. Santa Fe: Historical Society of New Mexico. [OCLC](/source/OCLC_(identifier)) [2629819](https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/2629819).

- Darby, John Fletcher (1880). [*Personal Recollections*](https://archive.org/details/personalrecolle00darbgoog). St. Louis: G. I. Jones and Company. p. [335](https://archive.org/details/personalrecolle00darbgoog/page/n347). [OCLC](/source/OCLC_(identifier)) [497877](https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/497877). Retrieved May 20, 2010.

## External links

- Richard Edwards & Merna Hopewell, *[Edwards's Great West and Her Commercial Metropolis](https://books.google.com/books?id=_85aHYrHi60C)* (1860) p. 571 "William Carr Lane, First Mayor of St. Louis"

- [William Carr Lane](http://exhibits.slpl.lib.mo.us/mayors/data/dt52748968.asp) at the St. Louis Public Library Mayors Exhibit website.

- [William Carr Lane](https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/20574) at [Find a Grave](/source/Find_a_Grave)

Political offices New title Mayor of St. Louis, Missouri 1823–1829 Succeeded by Daniel Page Preceded by John Fletcher Darby Mayor of St. Louis, Missouri 1837–1840 Succeeded by John Fletcher Darby Preceded by James S. Calhoun Governor of New Mexico Territory 1852–1853 Succeeded by David Meriwether

v t e Mayors of St. Louis, Missouri Lane Page Johnston Darby Daggett Maguire Wimer Pratte Camden Mullanphy Krum Barry Kennett How King O. Filley Taylor C. Filley Thomas Cole Brown Barret Britton Overstolz Ewing Francis Noonan Walbridge Ziegenhein Wells Kreismann Kiel Miller Dickmann Becker Kaufmann Darst Tucker Cervantes Poelker Conway Schoemehl Bosley Harmon Slay Krewson Jones Spencer

v t e Governors of New Mexico U.S. Military Admin (1846–1851) Military Kearny Price Washington Munroe Civilian Bent Vigil Connelly U.S. Territory (1851–1912) Calhoun Lane Meriwether Rencher Connelly Mitchell Pile Giddings Axtell Wallace Sheldon Ross Prince Thornton Otero Hagerman Curry Mills State (since 1912) McDonald C. De Baca Lindsey Larrazolo M. Mechem Hinkle Hannett Dillon Seligman Hockenhull Tingley Miles Dempsey Mabry E. Mechem Simms E. Mechem Burroughs E. Mechem Bolack Campbell Cargo King Apodaca King Anaya Carruthers King Johnson Richardson Martinez Lujan Grisham See also Mexican governors of New Mexico, Spanish governors of New Mexico

Authority control databases International ISNI VIAF GND FAST WorldCat National United States Other NARA SNAC Yale LUX

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [William Carr Lane](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Carr_Lane) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Carr_Lane?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.