Samuel D Maxwell

Samuel D. Maxwell (19 February 1803 in Garrard County, Kentucky – 3 July 1873) was the eighth mayor of the city of Indianapolis, Indiana. Maxwell won three mayoral elections as a Republican Party candidate and held office from 1858 to 1863. Maxwell is noted for his relationship with Governor Oliver Morten during the civil war. Mayor Maxwell is also known for founding the Indianapolis Fire Department in the fall of 1859, taking it from a combination volunteer to all career department by creating a board to oversee the transition. He appointed Joseph W. Davis as the first Chief Fire Engineer of the Fire Force. Later a grandson, Samuel Anderson Maxwell would later serve on the Indianapolis Fire Department as a fireman in 1880.