Jeter Andrew Barker Jr. (July 4, 1924 – July 11, 2011) was a philanthropist and the creator, founder, and former mayor of the cowboy themed town of

Love Valley, North Carolina Love Valley is a townhttps://www.ncleg.gov/Files/BillDrafting/CityCharters/Charter%20of%20the%20Town%20of%20Love%20Valley.pdf in Iredell County, North Carolina, United States. It also extends into Alexander County on its western end. The populatio ...

in Iredell County.Mcnally, Jim
Andy Barker, Founder of Love Valley, dies
Winston-Salem Journal, Aug 12, 2011

Early life

Barker was born in

Mecklenburg County, North Carolina Mecklenburg County is a county located in the southwestern region of the state of North Carolina, in the United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,115,482, making it the second-most populous county in North Carolina (after Wa ...

on July 4, 1924. As a child growing up in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, he wanted to be a cowboy. His teachers told him that there were no cowboy towns in North Carolina. When he was older, he and his father (Jeter Andrew Barker, I) ran a lucrative construction company, JA Construction, in

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

. He was a military veteran of the Army Corps of Engineers in World War II. He attempted to run for governor of North Carolina in the Democratic primary on two occasions (1976 and 1984) and for the Senate once.

Love Valley

His wife Ellenora Spratt Barker, daughter Tonda (age six), and son Jeter Andrew "Jet" Barker III (age two) moved to a little one-room shack in North Iredell County in April 1954. There, he fulfilled his childhood dream when he built and founded the town of Love Valley in 1954 as a cowboy themed town. Love Valley was incorporated in 1963. In 1970, Love Valley hosted a rock festival in which the Allman Brothers Band played. In the late 1990s, the Love Valley Horseman's Association and Love Valley Mule Association were formed. These associations are responsible for many of the events that take place in Love Valley.

Death

At the time of his death on July 11, 2011, Barker was mayor of Love Valley for all but six of the town's 48 years of incorporation. His father of the same name (went by A.J. Barker) was Love Valley's first mayor. Two other men had one-term stints as the top elected official during periods when Barker was retired. He was one of the longest serving mayors in the United States. Barker and his wife, who died in 2018, were buried at the Love Valley Presbyterian Church Cemetery, which he built in Love Valley as the first structure in town.United States Social Security Death Index," database, FamilySearch
Link
20 May 2014), J A Barker, 11 Aug 2011; citing U.S. Social Security Administration, Death Master File, database (Alexandria, Virginia: National Technical Information Service, ongoing).

Honors

Barker received several awards: *

Cowboy Hall of Fame The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum is a museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States, with more than 28,000 Western and American Indian art works and artifacts. The facility also has the world's most extensive collection of Ame ...

* Southeastern Rodeo Hall of Fame *

Marquis Who's Who Marquis Who's Who ( or ) is an American publisher of a number of directories containing short biographies. The books usually are entitled ''Who's Who in...'' followed by some subject, such as ''Who's Who in America'', ''Who's Who of American Wome ...

of America * Mayors Hall of Fame, 1994

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barker, Andy People from Iredell County, North Carolina Mayors of places in North Carolina 1924 births 2011 deaths United States Army personnel of World War II

Early life

Love Valley

Death

Honors

See also

References