Hugh D. O'Bryant
Hugh D. O'Bryant was Portland's first Mayor, having been elected in 1851.
Hugh O'Bryant was born in Georgia in 1815. O'Bryant crossed the plains with his younger brother Humphrey, and arrived in Oregon City in October of 1843. O'Bryant claimed a Donation Land Claim on Swan Island in 1847. He was a veteran of the Cayuse Indian War, a Junior Warden of the Portland Masonic Lodge, a justice of the peace, and a carpenter.
The election was held on April 7, 1851, and O'Bryant's opponent was Joseph Showalter Smith. Of the 222 votes cast, O'Bryant receive 113 votes to Smith's 109. O'Bryant served as mayor until 1852, although he may have already left Portland shortly before the election of his successor, Allison C. Bonnell.
O'Bryant Square in downtown Portland is named in honor of Mayor O'Bryant.