Politics / Business & brands / Architecture & design
Hugh Moffat
1810–1884 · carpenter-builder, lumberman, mayor of Detroit
Scottish-born carpenter who built Detroit's Mariners' Church, grew rich in lumber and, as 'Honest Hugh Moffat,' served as Republican mayor from 1872 to 1875.
- Born
Coldstream, Scotland- Died
Detroit, Michigan- Also known as
- Honest Hugh Moffat
- Detroit years
- 1837–1884
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Hugh Moffat was born in Coldstream, Scotland, in 1810, emigrated to Albany, New York, and moved to Detroit in 1837. Working as a carpenter and then a contractor, he built a successful construction business whose projects included Mariners' Church on Woodward Avenue, the now-demolished St. Paul's Church and Biddle House hotel, and his own Moffat Block. In 1852 he bought a sawmill and timberland, and lumber made him even wealthier. He was active in the volunteer fire department, the Mechanics' Society and the St. Andrew's Society of Detroit's Scots. Elected mayor as a Republican in 1871, he served two terms from 1872 to 1875, known for vetoing council spending and repeated attempts to let saloons open on Sunday afternoons, which earned him the nickname 'Honest Hugh Moffat.' He married three times, his last wife being the sister of Senator Thomas W. Palmer, and died in 1884.
Highlights
- Mayor of Detroit, 1872–1875
- Builder of Mariners' Church (1849)
- Built the Moffat Block and the Biddle House hotel
- President of Detroit's St. Andrew's Society
02 / Their Detroit places
Their Detroit places 1
Where they lived, worked, performed and liked to hang out. Closed and demolished places stay here too, because they are part of the city's history.
Worked here · 1849
Mariners' Church
Detroit's oldest stone church, which he built as contractor; in 1955 it was moved about 880 feet to its current site next to the Detroit–Windsor Tunnel entrance.