Ed Overholser

Overholser was born in Sullivan, Indiana, to Henry Overholser and Emma Hanna Overholser.[2] He was educated in public schools and attended a preparatory school for boys in Kansas.[3] He arrived in Oklahoma City on April 2, 1890, and took over the management of the Overholser Opera House.[3]

In the late 1890s, Overholser helped organized the townsites of Stroud, Wellston, Luther and Jones.[1] He entered public service and worked as the manager of the Oklahoma City waterworks department and was the first Secretary of the State Fair Association.[1] He also served as a school board member and as Chairman of the Board of County Commissioners.[1] He was responsible for the large lake that was named in his honor, Lake Overholser.[1] Overholser married Allie Garrison on May 26, 1903, and had two children, one of whom survived.[3]

Overholser won the race for mayor despite being a Republican in a strongly Democratic city.[3] He served from April 13, 1915, to December 24, 1918.[3]

Overholser became the President of the Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce from 1922 to 1927.[3] He was responsible for erasing the chamber's debt and increasing the membership to 5,000, an impressive feat at a time when only five cities in the U.S. claimed large memberships.[3] He was a member of a Masonic lodge, the Lutheran Church, and numerous clubs.[3] Illness took his life on April 21, 1931, in Oklahoma City.[3]