At the age of twenty-two, Monroe Heath was lured to California during the gold rush. Unlike many of his contemporaries, he actually found gold.
Monroe Heath, born on March 27, 1827, in Grafton, New Hampshire, moved to Chicago when he left California. In 1851, he became the founder and president of Heath and Mulligan Manufacturing Company. The company produced paints. Two years later, he married Julia Dickerman of Jefferson, Illinois. Together they had four children.
His paint manufacturing business was destroyed twice by fire, once in 1870 and again in the Great Chicago Fire of 1871.
Beginning in 1871, he served for five years as alderman of the 12th Ward.
In 1876, Heath was elected mayor on the Republican Party ticket. It was a time of national economic upheaval, and Chicago needed a firm hand. Heath acted impartially and kept a close watch on the city treasury. Under his leadership, the city survived the economic crunch.
Monroe Heath died October 21, 1894 in Asheville, North Carolina. His body was returned to Chicago, and he was buried in Oak Woods Cemetery.
Chicago excellently withstood economic crisis under Mayor Monroe Heath, her 30th Mayor.
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