William S. Maynard

Who was William S. Maynard?

William Sumner Maynard was a politician from the U.S. state of Michigan, who served as mayor of Ann Arbor, Michigan from 1856 to 1858 and again from 1865 to 1866. Maynard was born in Berkshire County, Massachusetts. He suffered from severe depression and committed suicide in 1866 by an overdose of morphine. Long notes of explanation were found in the pockets of his dressing gown, detailing Maynard's struggles with "The Evil One". The notes were published verbatim in Ann Arbor's several weekly newspapers. Maynard had been Ann Arbor's biggest land developer, a member and organizer in 1836 of the Ann Arbor Land Company, which acquired the former Henry Rumsey farm east of town, conveying 40 acres thereof to the newly formed State of Michigan as the site of the future University of Michigan, while hoping to profit by subdividing and selling town lots adjacent to the campus. Maynard also developed much of the land west of Ann Arbor's Main Street, as far west as the present Seventh Street.