Allen Cromwell Barbee (1911–2004) was an American politician. Barbee was one of eight children born to John Lucian Barbee and Deborah Vester Barbee. He graduated from Spring Hope High School in

Spring Hope, North Carolina Spring Hope is a town in Nash County, North Carolina, United States. It is part of the Rocky Mount, North Carolina Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,320 at the 2010 census. History The Dr. Hassell Brantley House, Spring Hope ...

and received a football scholarship to the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase ''universitas magistrorum et scholarium'', which r ...

. Barbee founded the local newspaper, the ''Spring Hope Enterprise'' in 1947. Politically, Barbee was affiliated with the

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 ...

. He was active in municipal politics for nine years as a member of the Spring Hope Town Board and mayor of the town. He won his first election to the

North Carolina House of Representatives The North Carolina House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the North Carolina General Assembly. The House is a 120-member body led by a Speaker of the House, who holds powers similar to those of the President pro-tem in the North ...

in November 1960, and left the office to contest the Democratic nomination for the 1972 North Carolina lieutenant gubernatorial election, which went to

Jim Hunt James Baxter Hunt Jr. (born May 16, 1937) is an American politician and retired attorney who was the 69th and 71st Governor of North Carolina (1977–1985, and 1993–2001). He is the longest-serving governor in the state's history. Hunt is t ...

. Barbee returned to the state house after winning the 1974 state legislative elections, and served continuously through 1987. He died on 11 February 2004, at the age of 93.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barbee, Allen 1910s births 2004 deaths Democratic Party members of the North Carolina House of Representatives People from Nash County, North Carolina 20th-century American politicians 20th-century American newspaper founders North Carolina Tar Heels football players North Carolina city council members Mayors of places in North Carolina