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{{Short description|American politician (1876–1969)}}
{{Infobox Governor▼
|name =Percival Proctor Baxter
|image =Baxter-garry.jpg
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|successor1 =[[Ralph Owen Brewster]]
|office2 =Member of the [[Maine House of Representatives]]
|term2 =
|office3 =Member of the [[Maine Senate]]
|term3 =
|birth_date =November 22, 1876
|birth_place =[[Portland, Maine]], U.S.
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}}
'''Percival Proctor Baxter''' (November 22, 1876 – June 12, 1969) was an American politician and philanthropist from [[Maine]]. The son of canning magnate and [[Mayor of Portland, Maine|Portland, Maine, mayor]] [[James Phinney Baxter]], he served as the [[List of Governors of Maine|53rd Governor]] of the [[U.S. state]] of
==Early life==
[[File:Percival Proctor Baxter Bowdoin College class of 1898.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Percival Proctor Baxter, [[Bowdoin College]] class of 1898]]
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 (Maine)|Portland High School]] in 1894, and graduated from [[Bowdoin College]] with honors in 1898.
When Baxter was governor he donated a large parcel of forest land to the people of Maine, which became [[Baxter State Park]]. He said "Man is born to die. His works are short-lived. Buildings crumble, monuments decay, and wealth vanishes, but Katahdin in all its glory forever shall remain the mountain of the people of Maine."{{
Baxter was also a fierce opponent of the [[Ku Klux Klan in Maine|Ku Klux Klan of Maine]], which supported the career of his political nemesis and successor Ralph Owen Brewster.
==Elective history==
*[[Maine State Senate]]
*[[Maine House of Representatives]]
*Maine State Senate
*[[Governor of Maine]]
*Unsuccessful run for [[U.S. Senate]]
==Baxter State Park==
Baxter's history is intertwined with [[Baxter State Park]], which bears his name, and with [[Mount Katahdin]], Maine's highest point (the highest knob on Katahdin is called Baxter Peak).
In 1903 Baxter went on a fishing trip to the area around Katahdin for the first time.
In 1916 Baxter began his campaign to make the area a state park. In 1920 he led a group of politicians up [[Pamola]] Peak, traversing the Knife Edge to the summit (now known as Baxter Peak).
In a 1921 speech, Baxter said:
Most of the land around Katahdin was then owned by the [[Great Northern Paper Company]].
The park was named in his honor in 1931.
Baxter was to continue to attempt to add property to the
In 1962 Baxter, at the age of 87, donated his 28th deed.
==Anti-Klan Republican==
{{Main|Ku Klux Klan in Maine}}
Baxter's term as Governor coincided with the rise of the [[Ku Klux Klan]] as a force in Maine and national politics. Although Baxter was an ardent foe of the Klan, it found a foothold in the [[Maine Republican Party]] through the influence of state senators Ralph O. Brewster, [[Mark Alton Barwise]], [[Hodgdon Buzzell]], and others, who sponsored bills in the early 1920s which would have cut aid to parochial schools, thus creating a 'wedge issue' between Maine's Protestant and Catholic communities. Brewster succeeded Baxter as governor in 1925. In [[1928 United States Senate elections
==Other activities==
[[File:Baxter Monument - Evergreen Cemetery.JPG|thumb|right|250px|The Baxter Family Monument in [[Evergreen Cemetery (Portland, Maine)|Evergreen Cemetery]].]]
In 1896, Baxter joined a number of his Bowdoin classmates and travelled to [[Bath, Maine]], where the Democratic candidate for president, [[William Jennings Bryan]], was scheduled to speak.
In 1953 Baxter donated [[Mackworth Island]] to the state.
Baxter was known for his passionate devotion to animals, and for his commitment to the humane treatment of animals. When his dog, Garry, died while Baxter was governor, he ordered the flag at the State House lowered to half staff, which angered some veterans' groups. Baxter belonged to several humane societies across the country, one of which, the New England [[Anti-Vivisection Society]], called him "America's greatest humane governor."
Following the death of [[Theodore F. Green]] of [[Rhode Island]] on May 19, 1966, Baxter became the oldest living former US governor.
Baxter died in Portland, and his ashes were scattered in the park.
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==References==
{{reflist}}
*[http://www.maine.gov/legis/senate/history/past/prespast/1921pb.htm Maine.gov biography]{{Dead link|date=January 2022}}
*
*
*Soares, Liz. ''All for Maine: The Story of Governor Percival P. Baxter.'' Windswept House Publishers (1996). {{ISBN |1-883650-17-8}}.
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{{Governors of Maine}}
{{Presidents of the Maine Senate}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baxter, Percival Proctor}}
[[Category:1876 births]]
[[Category:1969 deaths]]
[[Category:
[[Category:American Congregationalists]]
[[Category:American philanthropists]]
[[Category:
[[Category:Bowdoin College alumni]]
[[Category:Harvard Law School alumni]]
[[Category:Republican Party members of the Maine
[[Category:North Maine Woods]]
[[Category:Presidents of the Maine Senate]]
[[Category:Politicians from Portland, Maine]]
[[Category:Portland High School (Maine) alumni]]
▲[[Category:Republican Party state governors of the United States]]
[[Category:Baxter family]]
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