John G. Baxter
John George Baxter Jr. was the nineteenth and twenty-first mayor of Louisville, Kentucky.Biography
Baxter was born December 12, 1826 to Scottish immigrants in Lexington, Kentucky. He came to Louisville in 1847 and eventually established a successful stove company.
He served on the Board of Aldermen during the 1860s, and was elected president of the board from 1865 to 1867. He was elected mayor twice as a Democrat. His first administration saw the construction of the new city hall, as well as a new city hospital and an almshouse. He did not run again in 1872 after his first term because the new city charter restricted incumbents from running. He ran in 1875 and lost by a small margin to Charles Donald Jacob, but was reelected in 1879.
Baxter died on March 30, 1885 in Louisville. He is buried at Cave Hill Cemetery on Baxter Avenue, which was renamed in his honor.
