Locke Craig (August 16, 1860 – June 9, 1924), an American lawyer and
Democratic politician, was the
53rd governor
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
of the
U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...
of
North Carolina
North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...
, serving from 1913 until 1917.
Early and family life
Craig was born near
Windsor
Windsor may refer to:
Places Australia
* Windsor, New South Wales
** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area
* Windsor, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland
**Shire of Windsor, a former local government authority around Wi ...
,
Bertie County
Bertie County ( , with both syllables stressed) is a county located in the northeast area of the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 17,934. Its county seat is Windsor. The county was created in 1722 as Berti ...
, North Carolina on August 16, 1860 to
Baptist
Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compete ...
minister and farmer Andrew Murdock Craig (1806-1874) and his second wife Clarissa Rebecca Gilliam (1828-). He was named for the Scottish philosopher
John Locke
John Locke (; 29 August 1632 – 28 October 1704) was an English philosopher and physician, widely regarded as one of the most influential of Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment thinkers and commonly known as the "father of liberalism ...
. His paternal ancestors had emigrated from Scotland before the
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
. By 1870, his elder half-brothers William Craig (b. 1835), Clenzman Craig (b.1841) and Andrew Craig Jr. (b.1848) had left home, and he and his youngest brother Braxton Craig were away at school. Craig attended the Horner Military Academy in
Granville County
Granville County is a county located on the northern border of the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 60,992. Its county seat is Oxford.
Granville County encompasses Oxford, NC Micropolitan Statistical Are ...
run by former Confederate officer James Horner. Following his father's death in 1874, his mother sold the family farm and moved with the 15 year old Locke to
Chapel Hill Chapel Hill or Chapelhill may refer to:
Places Antarctica
* Chapel Hill (Antarctica) Australia
*Chapel Hill, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane
*Chapel Hill, South Australia, in the Mount Barker council area
Canada
* Chapel Hill, Ottawa, a neighbo ...
. He graduated from the
University of North Carolina
The University of North Carolina is the multi-campus public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the NC School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referred to as the UNC Sy ...
(also his late father's alma mater in 1822) in 1880. Locke Craig taught chemistry at the university for one year, then studied law.
Craig married Annie Burgin (1873-1955) on November 18, 1892 in
McDowell County, North Carolina
McDowell County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 44,578. Its county seat is Marion.
McDowell County comprises the Marion, NC Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is also includ ...
. The couple had four sons: Capt. Carlyle Craig (1892-1971), George Winston Craig (1894-1985), Arthur Burgin Craig (1896- ) and Locke Craig (1914-1993). Two of the boys graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, and George Craig would become a lawyer and member of the North Carolina General Assembly.
Career
After admission to the North Carolina bar, Craig settled in
Asheville
Asheville ( ) is a city in, and the county seat of, Buncombe County, North Carolina. Located at the confluence of the French Broad and Swannanoa rivers, it is the largest city in Western North Carolina, and the state's 11th-most populous cit ...
in the state's mountainous western region. He served as
Buncombe County
Buncombe County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is classified within Western North Carolina. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census reported the population was 269,452. Its county seat is A ...
attorney and the
Asheville
Asheville ( ) is a city in, and the county seat of, Buncombe County, North Carolina. Located at the confluence of the French Broad and Swannanoa rivers, it is the largest city in Western North Carolina, and the state's 11th-most populous cit ...
city corporation counsel.
In the 1890s, Craig became active in the local
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to:
*Democratic Party (United States)
Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to:
Active parties Africa
*Botswana Democratic Party
*Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea
*Gabonese Democratic Party
*Demo ...
and served as a Democratic elector in 1892 and 1896, canvassing the state for Democratic Presidential candidate
William Jennings Bryan
William Jennings Bryan (March 19, 1860 – July 26, 1925) was an American lawyer, orator and politician. Beginning in 1896, he emerged as a dominant force in the History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, running ...
. He became known as an orator, despite his small physical stature, and was nicknamed "The Little Giant of the West" in tribute to former Democratic presidential candidate
Stephen A. Douglas
Stephen Arnold Douglas (April 23, 1813 – June 3, 1861) was an American politician and lawyer from Illinois. A senator, he was one of two nominees of the badly split Democratic Party for president in the 1860 presidential election, which wa ...
.
At the time, the other major political party in the state was known as the "
Fusionists", a coalition of Populists and
Republicans. The Fusionists won many offices in North Carolina in 1894, and controlled the state legislature in 1895 and 1897, as well as elected Republican
Daniel L. Russell
Daniel Lindsay Russell Jr. (August 7, 1845May 14, 1908) was the 49th Governor of North Carolina, serving from 1897 to 1901. An attorney, judge, and politician, he had also been elected as state representative and to the United States Congress, ...
as the state's Governor in 1896. The other major Democratic orator in North Carolina at the time was fellow lawyer
Charles Brantley Aycock
Charles Brantley Aycock (November 1, 1859 – April 4, 1912) was the 50th governor of the U.S. state of North Carolina from 1901 to 1905. After starting his career as a lawyer and teacher, he became active in the Democratic Party during the part ...
of
Goldsboro, son of Confederate state senator and slaveowner
Benjamin Aycock and U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina during the Presidency of Democrat
Grover Cleveland
Stephen Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837June 24, 1908) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 22nd and 24th president of the United States from 1885 to 1889 and from 1893 to 1897. Cleveland is the only president in American ...
in 1893-1897. Although a strong supporter of education for blacks as well as whites, Aycock had refused to become the Fusionists' gubernatorial candidate in 1896. By 1898, Aycock and Craig were stressing white supremacy, enraged by the enlarged political role of African Americans in the Russell administration.
In 1899 Craig won election to the North Carolina House of Representatives and was re-elected in 1901. While a member of the North Carolina State House, Craig worked with Aycock on the state constitutional amendment that would effectively disfranchise African American voters.
Aycock won election as North Carolina's governor in 1900. Meanwhile, Craig twice failed in attempts at higher office, losing in a bid for his party's nomination for the U.S. Senate in 1903 and in 1908 withdrew from his first run for the North Carolina governorship after three days of deadlock in the state's Democratic conventionbetween his supporters and those of
William Walton Kitchin
William Walton Kitchin (October 9, 1866 – November 9, 1924) was an American attorney and the 52nd governor of the U.S. state of North Carolina from 1909 to 1913.
Early life and family
W.W. Kitchin was the son of William H. Kitchin and Maria ...
(the eventual winner) and
Ashley Horne
The Midnight Beast, sometimes abbreviated as TMB, is a British comedy/parody music group from London. They are most famous for their YouTube cover-parody of the 2009 single "TiK ToK" by American pop artist Ke$ha. The group currently has three m ...
. Finally winning the Democratic nomination in 1912 (by acclimation), Craig also won the general election in another three-way race and became North Carolina's governor, although his ally, former governor Aycock had died in April 1912 (suffering a heart attackwhile campaigning for the U.S. Senate seat).
During his time as governor, Craig continued Aycock's educational reforms. He also formed the state's first highway commission (5,000 miles of state-built roads in 1913 grew to 15,000 miles in 1917 and national recognition as the "Good Roads State") as well as established many forestry and fishery conservation policies. Gratifying North Carolinians enraged at the clearcutting of the state's forests by logging companies, Governor Craig and the legislature established
Mount Mitchell State Park
Mount Mitchell State Park is a North Carolina state park in Yancey County, North Carolina in the United States. Established in 1915 by the state legislature, it became the first state park of North Carolina. By doing so, it also established the ...
in 1915 (the state's
first state park). He also served on the Appalachian Parks Commission, which promoted creation of the
Pisgah National Forest
Pisgah National Forest is a National Forest in the Appalachian Mountains of western North Carolina. It is administered by the United States Forest Service, part of the United States Department of Agriculture. The Pisgah National Forest is complet ...
. He also acted decisively when floods ravaged western North Carolina in 1916. Implementing a campaign promise to reduce freight rates to the level of the rest of the South, and harnessing electric power by building dams on the
Yadkin,
Catawba Catawba may refer to:
*Catawba people, a Native American tribe in the Carolinas
*Catawba language, a language in the Catawban languages family
*Catawban languages
Botany
* Catalpa, a genus of trees, based on the name used by the Catawba and other ...
,
French Broad and
Cape Fear River
The Cape Fear River is a long blackwater river in east central North Carolina. It flows into the Atlantic Ocean near Cape Fear, from which it takes its name. The river is formed at the confluence of the Haw River and the Deep River (North Carol ...
s spurred the state's economic development. Craig also oversaw other improvements in western North Carolina.
He also encouraged private contracts for prisoners to perform road and railroad labor, using a model which in 1880 had led to completion of the
Western North Carolina Railroad
Western North-Carolina Railroad Company was incorporated under act of North Carolina on February 15, 1855.Interstate Commerce Commission. ''Southern Ry. Co.'', Volume 37, Interstate Commerce Commission Valuation Reports, November 6, 1931, p. 215 ...
to
Swannanoa Gap Swannanoa may refer to:
;in New Zealand
*Swannanoa, New Zealand, in North Canterbury, New Zealand
;in the United States
*Lake Swannanoa, New Jersey
* Swannanoa, North Carolina
*Swannanoa River, North Carolina
*Swannanoa (mansion)
Swannanoa is a ...
(on the Buncombe/McDowell county line and the division between the Atlantic and Mississippi watersheds). After completing his term, Craig retired from public service and resumed his legal career.
Death and legacy
The former governor built a new house on the
Swannanoa River
The Swannanoa River flows through the Swannanoa Valley of the region of Western North Carolina, and is a major tributary to the French Broad River. Its headwaters arise in Black Mountain, NC; however, it also has a major tributary near its headwa ...
in Asheville, but suffered a debilitating illness in 1917 and lived as an invalid during his final seven years. Locke Craig died at the age of 63 on June 9, 1924, survived by his wife Annie, sons and grandchildren. He was buried in the
Riverside Cemetery in the
Montford Area Historic District
The Montford Area Historic District is a mainly residential neighborhood in Asheville, North Carolina that is included in the National Register of Historic Places.
History
According to the National Park Service the origin of the name Montford ...
, in
Asheville
Asheville ( ) is a city in, and the county seat of, Buncombe County, North Carolina. Located at the confluence of the French Broad and Swannanoa rivers, it is the largest city in Western North Carolina, and the state's 11th-most populous cit ...
, North Carolina, where Annie joined him 30 years later. His eldest son Carlyle had a military career, including service in World War II, and his second son George followed his father's path in law and politics through the mid-1950s. His youngest son, Locke Craig Jr., became a forester.
In 1944, a portrait of Governor Craig by Asheville artist
Cuthbert Lee was unveiled in the state senate chamber in
Raleigh
Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the seat of Wake County in the United States. It is the second-most populous city in North Carolina, after Charlotte. Raleigh is the tenth-most populous city in the Southeas ...
. North Carolina named
Mount Craig, the second highest peak in Pisgah National Forest , in his honor in 1947, and erected a historical marker near his Asheville home in 1949. Another marker notes his childhood home in Bertie County.
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist James ...
's library holds his papers.
References
External links
North Carolina Election of 1898
{{DEFAULTSORT:Craig, Locke
1860 births
1924 deaths
Democratic Party governors of North Carolina
Democratic Party members of the North Carolina House of Representatives
People from Bertie County, North Carolina
People from Buncombe County, North Carolina
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill alumni
People from Windsor, North Carolina
District attorneys in North Carolina
19th-century American lawyers
19th-century American politicians
20th-century American politicians
20th-century American lawyers