Stevens Thomson Mason (October 27, 1811 – January 4, 1843) was an American politician who served as the first governor of Michigan from 1835 to 1840. At a young age, Mason became important in politics. He was appointed acting territorial secretary by Andrew Jackson when he was 19 and became acting territorial governor in 1834 at age 22. As territorial governor, Mason helped lead Michigan to become a state, which happened in 1837. He was a member of the Democratic Party and was elected as Michigan's first state governor in 1835. He served until 1840. He was elected when he was 23 and started his job as governor at 24. Mason was and remains the youngest person to ever be a state governor in American history.

Early life in Virginia and Kentucky

Mason was born near Leesburg in Loudoun County, Virginia, into a family that held significant political influence. His great-grandfather, Thomson Mason (1733–1785), served as chief justice of the Virginia Supreme Court and was the younger brother of George Mason (1725–1792), who participated in the Constitutional Convention. His grandfather, Stevens Thomson Mason (1760–1803), was a U.S. Senator from Virginia from 1794 until his death. His uncle, Armistead Thomson Mason (1787–1819), also served as a U.S. Senator from Virginia. Additionally, his uncles by marriage, Benjamin Howard (1760–1814) and William Taylor Barry (1784–1835), both held positions in the Kentucky House of Representatives and served as U.S. Representatives from Kentucky. Howard also acted as Governor of the Louisiana (Missouri) Territory from 1810 to 1812 and later as Governor of the Missouri Territory from 1812 to 1813. Barry served as a U.S. Senator from Kentucky from 1814 to 1816 and later held various government roles in Kentucky, eventually becoming U.S. Postmaster General from 1829 to 1835.

In 1812, Mason’s father, John Thomson Mason (1787–1850), left the family home in Virginia to try to build a new life in Lexington, Kentucky. In 1817, President James Monroe appointed the elder Mason as United States marshal. Although his business plans did not work, and the family had financial problems in the 1820s, he was a lawyer and land agent from an influential family. He later became an important figure in the Texas Revolution.

Life and politics in Michigan Territory

John Mason was chosen to be the secretary of the Michigan Territory and the superintendent of Indian affairs in 1830 by President Andrew Jackson. His son, Young Stevens, was more skilled in politics than his father and helped protect him from plans by people who opposed President Jackson. This made Young Stevens noticed by the territorial governor, Lewis Cass. In 1831, President Jackson sent the older Mason on a mission to Mexico and named Young Stevens to take his father’s place as secretary when he was only 19 years old, before he could even vote. Around the same time, Governor Cass became President Jackson’s Secretary of War. Because the territorial secretary usually acted as the governor, Young Mason held that role until George Bryan Porter, who was chosen to replace Cass in August 1831, arrived in Detroit in 1832. However, Porter was often away, so Young Mason acted as governor most of the time, earning the nickname "Boy Governor." Porter died from cholera in Detroit in 1834, and Young Mason once again served as acting governor of the Michigan Territory.

Young Mason worked to support Michigan’s goal of becoming a state. When the first request for statehood in 1832 was not considered by the U.S. Congress, Young Mason organized a census for the territory. When the census was finished in 1834, it showed that 85,856 people lived in the lower peninsula, more than the 60,000 people required for statehood by the Northwest Ordinance of 1787. A disagreement over a piece of land called the Toledo Strip, claimed by both Michigan and Ohio, led to the Toledo War. President Jackson chose Benjamin Chew Howard of Baltimore and Richard Rush of Philadelphia to settle the dispute, but Young Mason was not happy with their plan and refused to agree. To avoid upsetting his political supporters in Ohio, President Jackson removed Young Mason from his position as territorial secretary in August 1835 and replaced him with John S. ("Little Jack") Horner.

First governor of the state of Michigan

Although Horner replaced Mason, Mason remained popular in Michigan. Voters approved a constitution on October 5, 1835, and elected Mason as governor. However, the U.S. Congress did not recognize Michigan as a state until the dispute with Ohio was resolved.

In 1836, facing financial problems because Michigan was not recognized as a state, Mason agreed to a compromise proposed by the U.S. Congress. He agreed to give Ohio the disputed land in exchange for the western two-thirds of the Upper Peninsula, which Michigan already included the eastern third. A convention in September 1836 refused to accept this plan, but Mason succeeded in a second convention in December 1836. On January 26, 1837, Michigan became a state.

In 1835, Mason started an ambitious plan to improve Michigan’s infrastructure, which included building three railroads and two canals, one of which was the Clinton-Kalamazoo Canal. Mason was re-elected in 1837, but the state’s economy suffered due to the Panic of 1837. Earlier in 1837, Mason arranged to fund the improvements by selling $5,000,000 in bonds (equivalent to $144 million in 2024). This plan failed in 1837, and after the company building the canal and the bank supporting the loans went bankrupt, the state owed over $2,000,000 (equivalent to $57.4 million in 2024). During trips to New York to fund his projects, Mason met Julia Phelps, and they married on November 1, 1838.

In early 1838, Mason led the state militia to stop the Patriot War, an attempt by groups to invade and take parts of Canada. On January 8, the schooner Ann was captured by the Patriots and sailed to Gibraltar, Michigan. Mason, with 200 militiamen, chased them in two steamships. A hundred Canadian soldiers also joined in the Alliance. Mason met with Patriot leaders at Gibraltar, but the Ann continued toward Fort Malden. On January 9, the Patriots attacked Fort Malden and Amherstburg from the Ann. Canadian soldiers took positions in the town while the Patriots moved 300 men to Bois Blanc Island. The Canadian soldiers fired on the Ann when it tried to reach the island, damaging its sails and killing some crew members. The ship ran aground, and Canadian soldiers captured the crew without resistance. The remaining Patriots fled to the American side of the river. Several Patriots were wounded or killed, and the Canadians seized 300 muskets, 2 cannons, 10 kegs of gunpowder, and other supplies. The actions of the Patriots were considered a violation of the Neutrality Act by the U.S.

Instead of running for re-election in 1839, which might have been difficult, Mason left politics and tried to become a private lawyer. His successor, William Woodbridge, blamed Mason for Michigan’s financial problems and accused him of corruption related to the $5,000,000 loan. Mason tried to defend himself, but his reputation was damaged.

Retirement and death in New York

In 1841, Mason moved from Michigan to New York City, where his wealthy father-in-law, Thaddeus Phelps, lived. Mason tried to start a law practice there but had trouble finding clients. He caught pneumonia in the winter of 1842 and died at the age of 31 during the night of January 4, 1843, though his date of death is sometimes listed as January 5.

Mason was first buried at New York Marble Cemetery. On June 4, 1905, his remains were moved from New York to Detroit by his sister Emily Mason, then 92 years old; his daughter, Dorothy Mason Wright; three grandsons; and several grand-nephews and great-grandchildren. Services were held by Rev. David M. Cooper, who had known Mason when he was governor, 70 years earlier. Other important people at the event included then-Governor Fred M. Warner and the mayor of Detroit, George P. Codd. His remains were buried at Capitol Park, the location of the old Michigan Capitol. Later, a bronze statue of Mason on a granite pedestal was placed above his grave. The statue was created by sculptor Albert Weinert and showed the young Mason in a confident pose.

On September 3, 2009, officials said the park would be changed and the monument moved a few yards. But when workers started digging, they found no grave. After four days of searching, the vault with his remains was found on June 29, 2010, a few yards south of where it was first. It was thought that the grave was moved from its 1905 spot in 1955 to make space for a bus terminal.

On October 27, 2010, which was the 199th anniversary of his birth, Mason was buried for the fourth time in a new vault under the bronze statue made by Albert Weinert. Mason’s great-great-great grandnephew, who lives in Grosse Ile, Michigan, watched the reburial. The current dean of the Cathedral Church of St. Paul, where Mason’s funeral was held in 1843, led the ceremony. Before the reburial, Mason’s remains were taken to Lansing and placed on display in the Capitol Building. Mason was the fourth Michigan governor to be placed on display in the Capitol.

In addition to these events, Mason helped create an education system and moved the University of Michigan to Ann Arbor.

Marriage and children

Mason married Julia Elizabeth Phelps in New York City on November 1, 1838. The couple had three children:

• Stevens Thomson Mason Jr. (August 1, 1839 – January 27, 1843)
• Dorothea Eliza Mason Wright (October 29, 1840 – October 4, 1916). She was known as Dora. Dora married Colonel Edward H. Wright (1824–1913), who served as an officer in the United States Army. Dora and Edward Wright had a son named William M. Wright, who became a U.S. Army officer and reached the rank of lieutenant general.
• Thaddeus Phelps Mason (March 11, 1842 – April 1847)

Places named in Mason's honor

• The city of Mason, Michigan is the county seat of Ingham County, which is home to the state capital, Lansing.
• Mason County, Michigan
• Lawrence, Michigan was originally named Mason from 1835 to 1843.
• Mason Hall at Michigan State University
• Mason Hall at the University of Michigan
• Stevens T. Mason State Office Building in Lansing, Michigan
• Mason Senior High School in Erie Township, Michigan
• Stevens T. Mason Elementary School in Grosse Pointe Woods, Michigan
• Stevens T. Mason Middle School in Waterford Township, Michigan
• Mason Elementary School in Detroit, Michigan
• Mason Street in Green Bay, Wisconsin
• Mason Street in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
• Mason Street in Saginaw, Michigan