Elected mayor in 1906, John Walton Ensign, a conservative Democrat, was able to partially subdue the political turmoil which had prevailed at City Hall.
Born in 1871, the year of the city’s birth, Ensign had followed in the footsteps of his father, Major Ely Ensign, as general manager of Huntington’s American Car & Foundry (ACF) plant.
Despite his demanding post at ACF, Ensign found time to devote himself to other business affairs and become prominently identified in political, civic religious and social circles.
He was several times president of the Huntington Chamber of Commerce, once president of the Rotary Club, a vestryman at Trinity Episcopal Church and one of the organizers of the Gypsy dance club. Over the years, he played an important role in establishing the Boy Scouts and the YMCA in Huntington.
