Thursday, March 27, 2008

Location

The home is located in Fort Worth, Texas, in the Fairmount Southside Historical District. It sits on the southeast corner of Washington Avenue and West Jefferson Avenue. In 1924, West Jefferson Avenue was named Cactus Street [1, 2, 3], and the home had the address of 1015 Cactus. At some point between 1918, when the Baird family moved out, and 1927 the home was expanded to the South, a new front door installed, and the address changed to Washington Avenue.

Baking was done in the home, then in a small shed that previously served as servant's quarters for the house [4, 5], then after 1911 - 1914, in a shed in the backyard built by her landlord, which had the address of 1811 Washington Ave [5, 6, 7]. The two sheds no longer exist, and the dates and exact locations of these sheds vary with the sources of information. There is no official 1811 Washington that I can find. There's an empty lot at 1807 Washington, and a new home at 1821 Washington. The 1927 Sanborn Fire Map shows 1811 and 1821 Washington at the same structure. Perhaps the shed was at the location of 1821 Washington.

[1] Sanborn Fire Maps, 1927, vol 4, page 69
[2] Fort Worth City Directory, unknown year.
[3] "Page 6" from an unknown document lists the name change as being in 1924.
[4] "Page 6" from an unknown document shows the bakery being in a "small house converted into a bakery - peel oven added" in 1910.
[5]
"Mother's Legacy Lives On", Fort Worth Star Telegram, Sunday, May 8, 1977
[6] Fort Worth City Directories. 1914, 1916 and 1918 editions show the bakery at 1811 Washington Ave and the residence at 1015 Cactus.
[7] "Page 6" from an unknown document lists the bakery and retail shop being built in 1911.

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