The Baker Land and Title Company had an important role in the growth and development of the St. Croix River region. Indeed, when informed of the pending donation, Wisconsin historian Alice E. Smith stated that she had been “waiting to see the Baker Land and Title Company records for years, as they tell the story of the settlement of the St. Croix Valley.”
The history of the company begins with Caleb Cushing and his investments in the St. Croix River valley (See also Caleb Cushing Papers, SHSW Archives Micro 45 and SC 276). Cushing, a wealthy and influential lawyer from Massachusetts, and several powerful Bostonians formed the St. Croix and Lake Superior Mineral Company in 1845 with the intention of mining copper ore along the St. Croix River. Although nothing came of the mining venture, Cushing did travel to the region in 1846 and purchased the St. Croix Lumber Company based in St. Croix Falls, Wis.
Several other regional investments followed. Many of these proved to be unsuccessful since Cushing operated as an “absentee landlord,” leaving others to care for his interests. This had much to do with the mismanagement of the companies which Cushing formed and disbanded during the period from 1846 to 1874. One such company, which became known as the Cushing Land Agency, was established in 1854 with agents hired to represent Cushing's water power and land interests.
By 1869, Cushing's regional assets included those of the original lumber company, most of the land comprising the village of St. Croix Falls, the entire water power properties of the St. Croix River falls, and about 33,000 acres of unimproved timber lands in the northern part of Polk County. The land, acquired in 1869 from the State of Wisconsin under provisions of the Morrill Act (in which thousands of acres of lands granted to the state for support of an agricultural college were sold), formed the basis of subsequent land sales. These sales were primarily to Scandinavians, many of whom came directly from Europe. Among them was a Swedish group which came in 1869 and a large Danish colony which arrived some time later.
Although purchase of the agricultural college lands, later called the “Cushing Lands,” proved to be a good investment, early management of these lands was injudicious at best. However in 1874, Cushing appointed Major Joseph Stannard (J. S.) Baker, a Civil War regimental commander, to manage the stagnating Cushing empire. Baker relocated his family from Lansing, Michigan and settled into the community, living in a large house known as the “Agent's Residence.”
The company prospered and by 1875 Cushing had increased his land holdings in the county to about 45,000 acres. Company offices were located on the ground floor of the Cushing House, a three-story frame hotel situated on Washington Street in St. Croix Falls. This hotel burned to the ground in 1880. During the blaze, J. S. ran into the burning building with a long rope and pulled the heavy safe, which held the company's records, to safety. A separate building for the agency, located on the main street of St. Croix Falls, was completed in 1881. This building was still occupied by the company as late as 1997.
Although Cushing himself died in 1879, Baker continued to manage Cushing's assets in Polk County, finally selling off the water power properties in 1887 and the last of the “Cushing Lands” sometime later.
After the sale of Cushing's interests, Baker continued operating the land business on his own accord. As early as 1876, he had been acquiring land chiefly through tax certificate purchases. At that time, Wisconsin counties issued a certificate (in effect, a lien) on lands with unpaid taxes and subsequently sold these certificates to land firms and private individuals. A different certificate number would be issued for each year that taxes were not paid on a particular piece of property. Baker used this process to acquire money from the interest he charged the owner to redeem (pay) their certificate and to acquire title to lands in which the owner did not redeem their certificates within the required three year period. In this way, J. S. obtained full title to thousands of acres of timber and farm land in three Wisconsin counties. He generally sold these lands through land contracts with small down payments and annual payments as little as 25 to 50 dollars with a 6 per cent interest rate. Payment in full resulted in delivery of the warranty deed.
Eldest son Ray Stannard Baker, newspaper reporter and Pulitzer Prize winner, worked in his father's office for a time after his graduation from college. Reminiscences of the land agency are included in his book, Native American (1941).
As his father's deafness (the result of a Civil War injury) became complete, son Harry D. joined the firm in 1893. He recommended advertising as a means to pay the considerable debts which the agency owed. Advertising was instituted and by 1898 all debts had been paid. Also during that time, J. S. became interested in reforestation of the cutover lands under his ownership. He paid special attention to land he owned on Deer Lake, planting a total of 30,000 trees over a period of eight to ten years. When queried about it, J. S. replied, “Some people in this world want big white monuments; I will take a green one.”
In 1902, the firm was incorporated as the Cushing Land Agency, under the joint management of J. S. and Harry Baker. In 1911 the articles of incorporation of the firm were amended and the name was changed to the Baker Land and Title Company. It was intended to be a general real estate business primarily serving Polk, Washburn, Burnett, and Douglas counties.
Land contracts went out of common use by the agency after its focus shifted to that of a general real estate brokerage firm. By this time, most farms had already been developed as agricultural land by previous owners and were sold on deed and mortgage. As automobile ownership and usage grew more common, the business moved into lake frontage land investments. Lake lands were subdivided, platted, and sold off to people in nearby Minneapolis and St. Paul for use as summer homes and vacation cottages. The lake frontage business was an important adjunct to the general farm business. Still in existence (1997), the company continues its work in commercial and lake front properties although the primary focus is now residential dwellings.
J. S., regarded as a prominent citizen of St. Croix Falls, died in 1912. Although he was one of the founders of the First Presbyterian Church in St. Croix Falls, he was not able to participate fully in many civic concerns due to his deafness. However, son Harry was involved in a number of civic interests including the First Presbyterian Church, Red Cross and county assistance following a 1922 tornado, and the Polk County Council of Defense during World War I. Harry managed the company for seventy-two years, retiring in 1966 at age 92. (See also the Joseph Stannard Baker Papers, SHSW Archives, River Falls Mss EG, River Falls Micro 8, and Micro 432.)
