Jere Baxter (February 11, 1852 – February 29, 1904) was an American businessman, lawyer, and politician. He was the founder of the Tennessee Central Railroad.

Early life

Jere Baxter was born on February 11, 1852, in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and t ...

.Col. Jere Baxter Dead
The New York Times, March 1, 1904, page 9 His father, Nathaniel Baxter, was a politician and judge. After graduating from

Montgomery Bell Academy Montgomery Bell Academy (MBA) is a preparatory day school for boys in grades 7 through 12 in Nashville, Tennessee. History MBA was established in 1867 in the aftermath of the American Civil War. It is the successor to two schools: the Western M ...

, he studied law.

Career

Baxter went into legal publishing, issuing ''The Legal Reporter'', the nine-volume bound compilation of which came to be commonly known as ''Baxter's Reports''. Baxter founded the Tennessee Central Railroad and helped found the communities of

South Pittsburg, Tennessee South Pittsburg is a city in Marion County, Tennessee, United States. It is part of the Chattanooga, TN– GA Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 3,106 at the 2020 census. South Pittsburg is home to the National Cornbread Festi ...

, and

Sheffield, Alabama Sheffield is a city in Colbert County, Alabama, United States, and is included in the Shoals metropolitan area. As of the 2010 census, the population of the city was 9,039. Sheffield is the birthplace of "country-soul pioneer" and songwriter Art ...

. He served in the

Tennessee State Senate The Tennessee Senate is the upper house of the U.S. state of Tennessee's state legislature, which is known formally as the Tennessee General Assembly. The Tennessee Senate has the power to pass resolutions concerning essentially any issue regar ...

, and unsuccessfully sought 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 ...

nomination for governor of Tennessee in 1890.Buchanan for Governor; Tennessee Democrats Choose Him on the Twenty-fifth Ballot
''The New York Times'', July 19, 1890 Baxter had a very public argument with

Whitefoord Russell Cole Whiteford Russell Cole (January 14, 1874 – November 17, 1934) was an American businessman. He was the president of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad from 1926 to 1934, and a director of many companies. During the railroad strike actions ...

over the Tennessee Central Railroad in the early 1900s.

Death and legacy

Baxter died on February 29, 1904. Baxter, Tennessee, is named for him.Jere Baxter
in the ''

Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture ''Tennessee Encyclopedia'' is a reference book on the U.S. state of Tennessee that was published in book form in 1998 and has also been available online since 2002. Contents include history, geography, culture, and biography. The original print ...

'' He was buried in Mount Olivet Cemetery.

References

1852 births 1904 deaths 19th-century American businesspeople Politicians from Nashville, Tennessee Businesspeople from Tennessee Democratic Party Tennessee state senators Burials at Mount Olivet Cemetery (Nashville) 19th-century American politicians {{US-business-bio-1850s-stub