Herbert Hill Baxter was a politician and Mayor of

Charlotte, North Carolina 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 ...

. Herbert Hill Baxter was born on May 31, 1894, in Boston, MA. He graduated from the

University of Massachusetts Amherst The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst, UMass) is a public research university in Amherst, Massachusetts and the sole public land-grant university in Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Founded in 1863 as an agricultural college, ...

in 1918. He served in the US Army Infantry during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

where he was commissioned as a second lieutenant. Part of his training was conducted at Camp Greene in Charlotte. In 1925 Baxter returned to Charlotte and organized Central Lumber Company. He was president of the company until it closed in 1958. Baxter became interested in local politics in 1935. He was elected to the

Charlotte City Council The Charlotte City Council is the legislative body of the City of Charlotte and forms part of a council–manager system of government. The Council is made up of eleven members and the Mayor, all elected to two-year terms in odd-numbered years. ...

from 1935 to 1941, and 1951–1959. In 1943, he defeated E McAurther Currie to become Charlotte's mayor. He was reelected in 1945 and 1947. During his terms as mayor, Baxter established a planning board and called for progressive city growth. He launched a sale of bonds to finance the cities Program for Progress. During his administration the city acquired Morris Field from the US Air Force which would be used for airport expansion, developed and adopted heath, housing, and zoning ordinances, created ABC legislation, began the construction of a cross town highway, established a city employee retirement system and created the department of Traffic Engineering. In 1949 he was defeated by Victor Shaw. After his term as mayor, Baxter continued to work with the city, primarily as vice chair of the Charlotte Redevelopment Commission. Baxter was also active in community organizations including the Masons, Lions Club, Myers Park Country Club, Charlotte Mecklenburg Boy Scouts, and Charlotte Symphony Orchestra. he helped found the Charlotte City Club in 1947 and served as its first president. He served as commander of the Civil Air Patrol's North Carolina Wing from 1950–1953.

References

External links

Herbert H Baxter Papers
J Murrey Atkins Library, UNC Charlotte 1894 births 1967 deaths Mayors of Charlotte, North Carolina Politicians from Boston University of Massachusetts Amherst alumni {{NorthCarolina-mayor-stub