Henry L. Bridges
| Henry Lee Bridges, Sr. | |
|---|---|
| Mayor of Minden, Louisiana, USA | |
|
In office 1928–1932 |
|
| Preceded by | Robert F. Kennon |
| Succeeded by | Connell Fort |
|
In office 1934–1936 |
|
| Preceded by | Connell Fort |
| Succeeded by | David William Thomas |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
December 6, 1874 Athens, Claiborne Parish Louisiana, USA |
| Died | April 9, 1939 (aged 64) Minden, Webster Parish, Louisiana |
| Nationality | American |
| Political party | Democratic Party |
| Spouse(s) | Forrest Cobb Bridges |
| Children |
Mary Elise Hilzim |
| Occupation | Businessman |
Mary Elise Hilzim
Helen B. Gallien
Henry L. Bridges, Jr.
Lewell Bridges
Forrest Lee Bridges
Henry Lee Bridges, Sr. (December 6, 1874 – April 9, 1939), was a businessman who served from 1928 to 1932 and again from 1934 to 1936 as the mayor of the small city of Minden, the seat of government of Webster Parish, in northwestern Louisiana.
Bridges was born in nearby rural Athens in Claiborne Parish but moved to Minden in 1907, where he operated a clothing store. He was first elected mayor in the Democratic primary in the spring of 1928, when Robert F. Kennon, then twenty-six and later the governor of Louisiana from 1952 to 1956, declined to seek a second two-year term. The position became four years in 1954 and is now filled in the fall of non-presidential years.
Bridges was reelected on April 8, 1930, when he defeated Coleman Lindsey, later a state senator and the lieutenant governor in the abbreviated 1939–1940 term of Governor Earl Kemp Long. In that contest, Bridges polled 519 votes to 402 for Lindsey. In 1932, however, Bridges was unseated by his sole opponent, former Mayor Connell Fort, who had preceded Kennon as mayor from 1922 to 1926. Fort polled 709 votes to Bridges's 437 in the primary held on April 12, 1932.
In the primary election held on April 10, 1934, Fort was eliminated from the race, and Bridges then faced his eventual successor as mayor, David William Thomas, a former university professor, journalist, publisher, and lawyer, who was a native of Wales. In the runoff election held on May 15, Bridges handily defeated Thomas, 624 to 377. In March 1936, Thomas in turn unseated Bridges, 736 to 682, to secure the first of his two consecutive terms in the office.After his defeat, Bridges returned to store keeping with the opening of a men's furnishings business in the Webb Building in Minden.
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