A short history of Baird
Baird, Texas was named after Matthew Baird, a director of the Texas and Pacific Railway. He was also sole proprietor of the Baldwin Locomotive Works, the largest locomotive firm in the United States, headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
The city was officially founded in 1880. In 1993, the Texas Legislature designated Baird as the "Antique Capital of West Texas". It has 12 antique shops.
The former Callahan County Jail, at 100 W. 5th Street, was originally located in nearby Belle Plain, then the county seat. When the county seat moved to Baird, the jail was disassembled brick by brick, and reassembled at its current location. Belle Plain lost population and became a ghost town.
Adapted (trimmed) from the Wikipedia article Baird, Texas, revision 1382022582 by its contributors, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.