Local scholar, U.S. Government Official, Preservationist
By Sidney Baynes – January 2025
Lawson Beasley Knott, Jr., Director of the U.S. General Services Administration from 1964-1969, was born on April 6, 1912 and raised in the “Knott Heights” section of Wendell . This area lies on Selma Road between the overhead bridge and Lions Club Road. Lawson’s father Lawson B. Knott, Sr. was a prominent tobacco farmer. Lawson’s grand uncle, also named Lawson Knott, was a former Civil War Colonel and P.O.W. who lived on the corner of Main Street and Wilson Avenue in Wendell. He helped to organize and found the Wendell Baptist Church.
As a youth, Lawson Jr. excelled in his studies and won contests for oratory and public speaking. Lawson stated in a 1981 interview that “I came to Washington in late 1934 with an A.B. degree from Duke University, a year of law school, and no money to complete it.” He hoped to find work in D.C. while pursuing his law degree which he did by taking a job as a mail clerk during the Roosevelt administration. He attended George Washington University and Wake Forest University and completed his law degree, though he had begun to travel extensively as his government work increased. He passed the Virginia Bar exam but with the onset of WWII he entered military service doing staff duty with the Army Corps of Engineers. During the war, Lawson worked with acquiring and disposing land and resources to support the armed forces engaged in Europe. Having served with Georgia Senator Carl Vinson during the war, Lawson was hired to work for the General Services Administration in 1956, becoming a deputy director in 1961 during the Kennedy administration.
Lawson became acting director of the GSA on December 1, 1964, and became the permanent director on May 12, 1964, having been appointed personally by Lyndon Johnson. Lawson had gained a reputation as a problem solver amongst Johnson’s inner circle and after a chance encounter and introduction with President Johnson, Lawson gained the appointment. Johnson remarked to Lawson that “You have been holding down the job and I think you should have it. You’ve earned it, and I’m going to give it to you. I want you to be mindful of the fact that the most important thing in government is excellence in office. Now you can go home and tell your wife and kiddies that you’ve got the job. You’ve earned it.”
The U.S. General Services Administration helps manage and support the functioning of federal agencies and constructs and manages federal properties. It also procures real estate and resources for federal use.
One of Lawson’s first tasks as GSA head was handling the artifacts surrounding the assassination of John F. Kennedy. Lawson was responsible for making sure Kennedy’s clothing and autopsy materials were transferred to the National Archives for safe keeping. There was another more special request, made directly to Lawson by Robert Kennedy and Jaqueline Kennedy. Lawson was instructed to dispose of the original casket which transported President Kennedy’s body back to Washington by having holes drilled into it and having it cast into the sea. The Kennedy family did not want the original casket to become a macabre relic, to be exhibited to the public.
As GSA director in the 60’s, Lawson was also occupied with disposing of government property and resources to help the nation bear the tremendous cost of the Vietnam War. During phone conversations available through the LBJ Presidential Library, President Johnson and Lawson can be heard discussing ways to remain frugal with government spending and to also raise more funds to offset the growing expense of the war. Another responsibility was the construction of federal buildings in various cities. The Terry Sanford Federal Building on New Bern Avenue in Raleigh bears Lawson Knott’s name on its cornerstone.
Lawson was also tasked with the planning and construction of the LBJ Library in Austin, TX. Lawson travelled with Mrs. Johnson to the library site and worked to make sure the library, which was an important concern for the President, took shape as the Johnsons desired. Mrs. Johnson mentions Lawson numerous times in her audio diary, commenting also on time spent with Lawson’s wife Marian.
On February 3, 1967, the 25th Amendment to the Constitution was signed. As Director of the GSA, Lawson signed the document and then presented it to President Johnson to sign. Lawson also worked briefly with the Nixon administration.
After his retirement as GSA Chief, Lawson worked with the National Trust for Historic Preservation, eventually becoming Trustee Emeritus. He worked to preserve and restore historic properties such as the Willard Hotel in Washington, D.C. He was also a retired Lt. Colonel in
the Army reserve. Lawson died at his home in Arlington, VA on May 23, 1998. He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.