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

Tennessee Central Railroad The Tennessee Central Railway was founded in 1884 as the Nashville and Knoxville Railroad by Alexander S. Crawford. It was an attempt to open up a rail route from the coal and minerals of East Tennessee to the markets of the midstate, a service ...

Early life

Jere Baxter was born on February 11, 1852, in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

.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. The school is located in the Whitland Area Neighborhood. History MBA was established in 1867 in the aftermath of the American ...

, 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

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 Fes ...

, and

Sheffield, Alabama Sheffield is a city in Colbert County, Alabama, United States, and is included in the Florence-Muscle Shoals Metropolitan Area. The population was 9,403 at the 2020 census. and was estimated to be 9,307 in 2023. Sheffield is the birthplace o ...

. 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 reg ...

, and unsuccessfully sought the Democratic Party nomination for

governor of Tennessee The governor of Tennessee is the head of government of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the commander-in-chief of the U.S. state, state's Tennessee Military Department, military forces. The governor is the only official in the Government of Tenne ...

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 of ...

over the Tennessee Central Railroad in the early 1900s.

Death and legacy

Baxter died on February 29, 1904.

Baxter, Tennessee Baxter is a city in Putnam County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 1,578 at the United States Census, 2010, 2020 census.Tennessee Department of Economic and Community DevelopmentCertified Population of Tennessee Incorporated Municipal ...

, 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. History The origina ...

'' 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 members of the Tennessee General Assembly {{US-business-bio-1850s-stub