Business Toast of the Town

The article, "Business Toast of the Town" at the D Magazine web site has some interesting information on the early history of Baird's Bread, as well as some insight into the Baird children in later years. It was published in November of 1984, nearly 25 years ago when Hoyt was 87 years old. It details a few items that other articles don't mention. The only incorrect item I've noticed is the last name of Ninnie. The article lists it as Henderson, when her maiden name was really Harrison.

It mentions Ninnie being an orphan, learning to bake bread from an aunt. In other research, I've found that a few accounts tell of Ninnie becoming an orphan (her mother died earlier, when Ninnie was five years old) was because her father, Elisha Harrison, was killed in an argument over the job of Postmaster of Dyer, Tennessee. The details of this story can be found on this post at RootsWeb.

The article also helps establish the date of the combination bakery / storefront being built by 1912, but skips the move from the Hemphill home she lived at in 1908, to the Cactus home in 1910.

In case you missed the link above, you can find the entire article here.

First Bakery Photo

I've scanned the original article, Mrs. Baird's First Baked Bread in Kitchen Stove, which contains a photograph of "Mrs. Baird's first bakery". The scans now accompany the original article and I'm also including them with this post.

This "bakery" no longer exists, but was probably located at 1811 Washington. If you recognize this photo and have any further information about it, please contact us.

Page 6: Diagram of Cactus Street

Update: This page comes from the publication, "The Mrs Baird's Story".

"Page 6" was a copy of a single page given to me by a previous owner of the home. It contains a diagram of the corner of Cactus and Jefferson, showing the location of the home along with the first and second sheds, calling them the "second expansion" and the "third expansion".

The diagram is titled:

1015 CACTUS
FORT WORTH, TEXAS
1910-1919

The text for the second expansion is:

SECOND EXPANSION
(1910)
SMALL HOUSE CONVERTED
INTO BAKERY
PEEL OVEN ADDED

The text for the third expansion is:

THIRD EXPANSION
(1911)
LANDLORD BUILT BAKERY
AND RETAIL SHOP AT
1811 WASHINGTON

The caption for the diagram states:

This drawing shows how the two expansions were made after the Baird family moved to 1015 Cactus in 1910. A brick peel oven was added to the small one-room house in the yard and this became the bakery. Within a year, Mrs. Baird got her landlord to build a wooden bakery building facing Washington Street. The name of Cactus Street was changed to Jefferson in 1924.

Update: This page comes from the publication, "The Mrs Baird's Story".

1930 Census and a Lodge

The Fort Worth City Directories from 1928 to 1932 show the Cactus home being occupied by H. B. Edens, and the 1930 Census shows Hugh B. Edens, his wife, Mary F., and six children renting the place and living there. The 1932 City Directory also shows Mattie Montgomery, a nurse, living at the home. A deed to the property, dated 10 Oct 1932, lists the home as being occupied by H. B. Edens. By 1933, the family had disappeared.

Other interesting items on this census sheet are that Hugh B. (probably Baker) Edens is listed as a laborer for the "city pipe line", and three daughters have jobs, one as a stenographer for "auto supply", another as a stenographer for an "oil company" and the last works at a "ladies shop".

Some genealogical research shows a man named Hugh Baker Edens marrying Mary Francis Montgomery. In comparing other facts, beginning with birth dates and children, these are probably the same families.

Another interesting find is the March 1946 Fort Worth City Directory shows the two homes on the property as the "Washington Rooms", and the November 1946 directory shows it as the "Coefficient Lodge".

Given this new information, I've updated the Brief History and the Census posts.

If you have any insight into this or anything that also documents the above information, please contact us.

The Old Mrs. Baird's Bread Billboard

In Lili's Bistro on Magnolia Avenue, there is a large Mrs. Baird's Bread billboard painted on the wall. The story I was told about it is, when some previous owners were remodeling, they removed some of the wall and found the billboard behind it. They carefully removed everything around the billboard and put some sort of clear coat over it to keep it from degrading any further. I was also told the billboard was put up in the 1930's. I have little to base my opinion on, but I think the billboard was probably put up earlier - maybe the 20's, and it may be older.

I've seen a few times but have never taken photos of it. However, someone else has. You can find some a snapshot online at FortWorthology.

The billboard is hand painted, and I'm sure that nothing can compare to seeing the detailed work in person.

Brief History Update

Using the information I've uncovered in the past two weeks, I've updated the Brief History page, adding more detail of the history before the Baird family moved in, along with about fifteen new references.

Kuhlman & Blue Research

After noting the potential link between the Kuhlman & Blue business in the Flatiron Building to George Blue, owner of the Cactus Home from 1901 to 1906, I've now positively verified the connection after another walk through the Fort Worth City Directories.

Notes for the Cowan-Kuhlman House in the Historic Survey state that Fred M. Kuhlman is a later occupant at that home, and that Kuhlman & Blue had an office in downtown Fort Worth at the Flatiron building. Working on the hunch that this Blue must be George W. Blue, and that the Flatiron building was completed in 1907, I decided to start with the 1909-1910 directory.

City Directory 1909-1910
We indeed find that the Blue part of the business is George W. Blue, the owner of the house on Cactus. Note that this is after he sold the home to the Hoggs and moved out. However, the Kuhlman & Blue business is not yet located in the Flatiron Building.

KUHLMAN & BLUE (FRED M. Kuhlman, Geo. W. Blue) general fireproofing, reinforced concrete, paving and sewerage, contrs, office 500 Reynold bldg. Sw. Ph 2631
KUHLMAN FREDRICK M. (Kuhlman & Blue), bldg 906 W. Weatherford, Sw. ph 929

City Directory 1911
Finally, a location in the Flatiron Building. I wasn't able to locate the advertisement that is mentioned.

KUHLMAN & BLUE (FRED M. Kuhlman, George W. Blue), gen fireproofing, reinforced concrete, paving and sewerage contrs., 502 Flatiron bldg. Ph. Lamar 826. See advt.

By the City Directory of 1916, Kuhlman & Blue was no longer listed, but I wanted to continue down the line of directories until I could find when Fred Kuhlman moved into the Cowan-Kuhlman House. In the 1918 directory, he is listed as living at 1728 Washington (another home which is still standing on the corner of Cactus and Washington, and was built in 1915) and by the 1920 directory (1919 was missing at the Fort Worth Public Library), he was indeed residing in the Cowan-Kuhlman House.

Kuhlman, Fred M. office 702 Flatiron bldg, res 1800 Washington

I've used this information to update the Blue/Cowan/Kuhlman/Flatiron post.