Lewis Wesley Cutrer

Lewis W. Cutrer Terminal C at George Bush Intercontinental Airport is named after Cutrer. Lewis Wesley Cutrer (November 5, 1904 – May 7, 1981) served as Mayor of Houston, Texas from 1957 to 1963. Among his chief accomplishments while in office were the construction of Houston Intercontinental Airport (now George Bush Intercontinental Airport) and the Lake Livingston development project.

Early life Cutrer was the son of Richard Wiltz and Elizabeth Lewis Cutrer. He was born in Osyka, Mississippi on November 5, 1904. He grew up in Magnolia, Mississippi. He attended the University of Mississippi, where he earned a law degree.

Cutrer won the 1957 election with 67,600 votes to 39,156 votes for Holcombe. When Cutrer officially entered office on January 2, 1958, the city of Houston had already expanded to 349 square miles, containing over 800,000 residents. This expanding land area and population required an infrastructure program, and in 1958, he quickly proposed and passed a two-year bond referendum, authorizing up to $35 million in new debt. Priorities included finding a new source of fresh water, developing a second airport, improving the local bus system, and a new hospital.