The Boy Governor
 Stevens T. Mason led Michigan's
struggle for statehood. He was appointed acting territorial secretary at age 19 and became
acting territorial governor in 1834 at age 22. He authorized a census, one of the
requirements for statehood, and convened a constitutional convention. Michigan voters
approved the constitution and elected Mason governor in 1835. Because of a dispute with
Ohio over Toledo (called the "Toledo War"), Michigan did not become a state until
1837. Mason served until 1839. A city in Ingham County, Mason County and a state office
building are named for Stevens T. Mason.
This portrait shows Mason as artist Allen Smith, Jr., depicted him in 1837. The 6'
by 15' portrait hangs in the State Capitol building. In the Statehood Gallery a
mannequin portrays Michigan's first and youngest governor.
Mason kept this alabaster clock and pair of urns in his office at the capitol in
Detroit (Lansing did not become Michigan's capital until 1847). The clock and urns are
said to have been a gift from the Marquis de Lafayette of France to his father John T.
Mason.
Read more about Stevens
Thomson Mason in "Teachers' Stuff."
|
