After his time working at the Missouri Union and later at the American Car &amp; Foundry Company, Bixby dedicated his time to numerous groups and activities in the St. Louis area. In the year preceding his retirement, he headed the Fine Arts Commission for the 1904 World’s Fair, an act that helped inspire the creation of the St. Louis Art Museum. He was elected a member of the American Antiquarian Society in 1906. After his retirement from the railroad industry, he served as president for the Missouri Historical Society twice, between 1907-1913 and between 1925-1930. He also served on the board of Washington University in St. Louis, where he worked with Robert S. Brookings to rebuild the medical school and helped create the Bixby Chair of Surgery. He briefly served as the president of Laclede Gas and as a director of numerous banks around St. Louis.