Percival baxter biography

Percival Proctor Baxter (November 22, 1876 – June 12, 1969) was an American politician and philanthropist from Maine.
Percival Proctor Baxter was an American politician and philanthropist from Maine.
Baxter was born on November 22.

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About

PERCIVAL P. BAXTER, the fifty-third governor of Maine, was born in Portland, Maine on November 22, 1876. His education was attained at Bowdoin College, where he graduated in 1898, and at Harvard University, where he earned his LL.B. degree three years later. Instead of practicing law, Baxter went into his family’s lucrative real estate business. He entered politics in 1905, serving as a one-term member of the Maine House of Representatives, a position he held again from 1917 to 1920. He also served as a member of the Maine State Senate from 1909 to 1910 and 1921 to 1922, and served as president of the senate in 1921. On January 31, 1921, Governor Frederick H. Parkhurst passed away, and Baxter, who was president of the senate at the time, assumed the duties of the governorship. He was elected to his own gubernatorial term in 1922. During his tenure, a new state prison was established, conservation measures were improved, educational programs were advanced, tougher prohibition laws were endorsed, and for the first time in the state’s history women were appointed t

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The following material is excerpted from Governor Baxter's Magnificent Obsession, A Documentary History of Baxter State Park 1931 - 2006, by Howard R. Whitcomb.

On an August day in 1920, Percival P. Baxter found himself crawling across a knifed-edge arete as he approached the summit of Katahdin, which rises out of the great north woods of Maine. He was part of an expedition of friends and political figures determined to preserve the highest peak in the State of Maine. The expedition’s itinerary included crossings of both the East Branch of the Penobscot and the Wassataquoik Stream and then the trek from Katahdin Lake to Chimney Pond. From Chimney Pond, Baxter’s party ascended the mountain via Pamola Peak and headed for the summit via the aforementioned arete. In those moments, on what came to be known as the Knife Edge, the magnificence of the mountain and its surrounding region was reaffirmed in the mind of the future governor of Maine, a sense that never left him. Upon reaching the summit, Baxter said, “I wouldn’t do it again for a million; I wouldn’t have missed it fo

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Percival P. Baxter

American politician (1876–1969)

Percival Proctor Baxter (November 22, 1876 – June 12, 1969) was an American politician and philanthropist from Maine. The son of canning magnate and Portland, Maine mayorJames Phinney Baxter, he served as the 53rd Governor of the U.S. state of Maine from 1921 to 1925. A noted philanthropist, he donated several pieces of land to the public domain including Baxter Woods (Portland), Mackworth Island State Park (Falmouth), and Baxter State Park (Piscataquis County).

Early life

Baxter was born into a wealthy family in Portland where his father James Phinney Baxter served six terms as mayor and had made his fortune in the canning industry. He graduated from Portland High School in 1894, and graduated from Bowdoin College with honors in 1898. While at Bowdoin, Baxter founded the school's literary magazine, The Quill. He later earned a law degree from Harvard University in 1901, though he never opened a legal practice. He went into the family real estate business in Portland. He had seven siblings. However, he was to