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BAIRD,
TEXAS
"The Antique
Capital of West Texas"
Runaway Trains, Portable Jails and Lollipops
Callahan County
Seat
I - 20
21 miles E of Abilene
35 miles W of Eastland
122 miles W of Fort
Worth
HWY 283, 25 miles S of Albany
Population:
1,623 (2000)
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Aviation cadets
take a break in front of the T & P Depot at Baird in January of 1943
I found the [above] photo in my Dad's World War II album. He was an
aviation cadet on a transcontinental troop train that stopped in Baird
in January 1943. Baird was a rest stop for these guys after long train
trips from the east. I am not sure how long these troop trains stopped
in Baird, but it must have been welcomed by the thousands of GI's
who were being transported long distances in crowded conditions. In
my Dad's case, he documented the trip through some great photos, not
just of Baird but pointing his camera out of the Pullman window to
show the steam engine chugging across the Mississippi River at New
Orleans and entering the Mojave Desert in California.
Most of the GIs in the photo were in pre-flight training enroute to
the Santa Ana, California training base. You can see that the GI in
the foreground is wearing the aviation cadet wings on his cap or "cover".
This was their uniform until they completed training and were commissioned
as Second Lieutenants and awarded their official wings. In WWII, Santa
Ana was both a pre-flight training base and holding area for aviation
cadets until they were ordered to advanced training bases. In my Dad's
case, he was slotted to Bombardier pre-flight training in Santa Ana
(mostly academic non-flying work) and then advanced flight training
at Kirkland Field, NM. There was still two and one-half years of tough
combat ahead and I wonder how many men in the photo survived the war.
- David Schoeck, Dana Point, CA, January 09, 2008
See World
War II |
Baird Landmarks
& Attractions:
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The
"new" Callahan County Jail
Photo courtesy Charlene Beatty Beauchamp |
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The
old Callahan County Jails Originally in Belle Plain
When the railroad come through, and Belle Plain businesses moved to
Baird, the townspeople dismantled their new county jail, numbered
the stones,
and then reassembled it at its present location. (100 W. 5th Street)
Photo courtesy Charlene Beatty Beauchamp |
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The
Texas and Pacific Depot c. 1911
This depot is one of the larger ones on the former T & P route.
The T & P had depots from Marshall
to
Sierra Blanca,
where it merged with the Southern Pacific.
Photo courtesy Charlene Beatty Beauchamp |
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The
Baird Locomotive Mural
These three pickups conveniently provide scale for this well-executed
mural. Trains are freqently mural subjects - but seldom are they painted
life-size.
Photo courtesy Charlene Beatty Beauchamp |
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Baird
street scene, with the Callahan County courthouse in distance
Photo courtesy Charlene Beatty Beauchamp |
Declared
" Antique Capital of West Texas" by the State Legislature.
Callahan
County Pioneer Museum - Market and Fourth. Monday through Friday
1 to 5. 915-854-1718.
Railroad
Museum and Chamber - Monday through Friday 9 to 5
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History in
a Pecan Shell
Still waters run deep. Don't let the town's current tranquility
fool you.
This place
has survived a fire (1884), a tornado (1895), cattle drives, hard
winters (notably 1884-85), long droughts (drouths) (1886-87) and
a spectacular three locomotive collision caused by a runaway engine
in 1907. This incident may have given the Katy railroad their idea
for The Crash
at Crush. By the time the railroad in Baird was informed
about the loose locomotive, there was no time to wake people and
sell tickets. Baird had a roundhouse and maintenance shops for the
T & P.
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What goes
around comes around (unless it's a runaway locomotive).
Callahan County's
Seat of Government was originally in Belle
Plain, about 3 miles south. They had it all: a college (Belle
Plain College), a courthouse and a spanking new stone jail.
When the railroad come through, the newspaper and main businesses
moved to Baird and the people then wished they had made the jail
out of something much lighter. They dismantled it, numbered the
stones, and then reassembled it in its present location (100 W.
5th Street in Baird).
Ironically, it was Belle
Plain that caused the demise of Callahan
City, drawing away major businesses and population when Belle
Plain became the County Seat.
Callahan
City's cemetery is about all that's left of that town, while
Belle Plain still has ruins of the College buildings.
Callahan
County Courthouse - next page
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The Naming
of Baird and County
The
County was named after James Callahan, a survivor of the Massacre
at Goliad.
Baird was named
after one Matthew Baird, who various sources list as either a railroad
director, lawyer, surveyor, yodeling brakeman or any combination
thereof. Maybe he was a yodeling lawyer.
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Baird
Tourist Information
The
Chamber of Commerce is at the south end of Market Street in the
1911 Texas and Pacific Depot. It faces the 1929 Callahan County
Courthouse, but it's a long walk. 915-854-2003.
We spoke to Chamber Director Tommy Lee, who we found to be very
knowledgeable about her town - a refreshing change from many chambers
of commerce.
Abilene
Hotels > Book
Your Hotel Here & Save
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Fire
Department in Baird
Photo courtesy Charlene Beatty Beauchamp |
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