Geary is a common name throughout San Francisco: Geary Street, Geary Theater, Geary Motel, Geary Apartments, etc.  John Geary was larger than life, both literally and physically. He was born on December 30, 1819 in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania where he grew to be 6’5” tall and weighed 260 pounds. He was commonly described as opinionated, compassionate and compulsive. He went to Jefferson College in Pennsylvania at 14, studying civil engineering and law. While there his father died and Geary quit college to assume his father’s debts and support the family, taking over his father’s job as a teacher. He was the same age as his students. Geary eventually went back to college, getting his degrees in civil engineering in 1841. After graduation he worked as a construction engineer for a Pennsylvania railroad and got married. 

In 1846 Geary fought in the Mexican-American War where was wounded five times, later saying that his height made him an easy target. After the war President James Polk appointed Geary Postmaster of San Francisco with the authority to establish post offices, appoint postmasters and establish mail routes throughout California.

Geary and his family moved to San Francisco, which was still known at the time as Yerba Buena. Geary was so shocked at the lawlessness there that he sent his wife and son back to Philadelphia. The City was run by brothel owners, saloon keepers and gangs. It was in debt and had no police, no watchmen, no jail and no shelters for the poor and sick.

A year after arriving in the City, and against his wishes, Geary was elected Acalade (mayor) of Yerba Buena. A year later, when California became a state and San Francisco an incorporated city, Geary became the first mayor of San Francisco. He was 30 years old and remains the youngest mayor in the City’s history. 

While he did not want the job, Geary immediately went to work. On August 13, 1849 he established the San Francisco Police Department and appointed Malachi Fallon as the first Chief of Police. The original police department had one deputy captain, three sergeants and thirty officers. Geary also created the first taxes on real estate sales, auctions, business licenses and transportation. He created a “Common Council” to govern the City, later renamed the Board of Supervisors. He was instrumental in paying off the City’s debts.

After four years in San Francisco Geary returned to Pennsylvania to tend to his ailing wife (she died the following year in 1853) and donated all of his land in San Francisco to the City, now the site of Union Square^[1]. In 1856 he was appointed by President Franklin Pierce as governor or the Territory of Kansas. He then joined the Union Army and was a General in the American Civil War, influencing the outcome at Gettysburg. He was wounded an additional five times. After the war he remarried and in 1871 was elected Governor of Pennsylvania. He died in 1873 in Pennsylvania, three weeks after leaving office, at the age of 53. He never returned to San Francisco.

^[1] Union Square: story coming July 25th