Burton M. Cross Building Dedication

With the Renovation Project now complete, the Burton M. Cross Building will be dedicated October 24 at 1:00 p.m. It will be dedicated as the "Burton M. Cross" building in honor of Maine’s 61st governor who served from 1953-1955.

For the "history buffs" - Burton M. Cross was born in Gardiner, Maine on November 15, 1902 and graduated from Cony High School in 1920. In 1933 he won a seat on the Augusta Common Council and four years later in 1937 moved up to the Board of Aldermen, presiding over both bodies. Elected to the Maine House in 1941 he served two terms before moving up to the Senate in 1945. He became majority floor leader in 1947 and President of the Senate in 1949 until 1952.

In 1952 he won the Republican nomination for Governor and went on to defeat Democrat James Oliver in the general election by a substantial margin. Cross was later defeated in his reelection bid in 1954 by Democratic challenger, Edmund S. Muskie, by over 20,000 votes. See http://www.maine.gov/legis/senate/history/past/prespast/1949bc.htm for more information.