Charles Bigelow

Charles Grafton Bigelow (July 15, 1805 October 27, 1885) was a businessman who served a single one-year term as the fourth mayor of Houston, Texas, from January 6, 1840, to January 15, 1841, before serving as a colonel in the Mexican-American War.

Bigelow Street in Houston's Near Northside neighborhood is named in his honor.

Early life Born on July 15, 1805, in Northborough, Massachusetts, Bigelow left his hometown at age 23 to found the Northwest Territory's first tannery in Detroit. Bigelow had arrived in Texas by November 28, 1838, when he advertised 170 acres of land for sale in the Telegraph and Texas Register. Bigelow owned a farm equipment store and an ice house in Houston.

On January 6, 1840, Bigelow sought to improve relations by hosting visiting dignitaries such as James Pinckney Henderson.

Maddened by a $500 annual license issued to the county's brothels, Bigelow petitioned Harris County in a lawsuit by the city to end licensing, a revenue stream supplied disproportionately by Houstonians, in favor of a property tax. Despite a legally dubious case, Judge A.B. Shelby granted an injunction temporarily halting the collection of license taxes within Houston.