The George W. Baird House is a house in Edina, Minnesota, United States, built in 1886 by a prominent farmer in the Edina Mills community. The house was originally part of a farmstead. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980 for having local significance in architecture, agriculture, and settlement.

Architecture

The house is two stories tall and is built in the Eastlake style. It has a distinctive silhouette, with multiple roof shapes, dormers, a square tower, and tall brick chimneys. The large front porch has wooden posts and

baluster A baluster is an upright support, often a vertical moulded shaft, square, or lathe-turned form found in stairways, parapets, and other architectural features. In furniture construction it is known as a spindle. Common materials used in its cons ...

s, with a pediment over the entrance. The exterior is embellished with stone window trim, transoms, scalloped wooden shingles in the gables, and

belt course A belt course, also called a string course or sill course, is a continuous row or layer of stones or brick set in a wall. Set in line with window sills, it helps to make the horizontal line of the sills visually more prominent. Set between the f ...

s. It was designed by prominent Minneapolis architect Charles S. Sedgwick. The house is significant for its architecture, although it is not an outstanding example of a Charles Sedgwick-designed Eastlake house when compared to other houses. (Sedgwick also designed other properties listed on the National Register, such as the George R. Newell House and Westminster Presbyterian Church in Minneapolis, and the First National Bank and the

Nehemiah P. Clarke House The Nehemiah P. Clarke House is a historic house in St. Cloud, Minnesota, United States. History It was built in 1893 for Nehemiah P. Clarke (1836–1912), who arrived in St. Cloud as a pioneer in 1856 and made his fortune in retail, lumbering ...

St. Cloud, Minnesota St. Cloud is a city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and the largest population center in the state's central region. The population was 68,881 at the 2020 census, making it Minnesota's 12th-largest city. St. Cloud is the county seat of Stear ...

History

In addition to its architectural notability, the house recalls the agricultural roots of Edina. The owner, George W. Baird, moved from Pennsylvania to Minnesota in 1857 and bought a farm in the Edina Mills area. Baird was a promoter of scientific farming practices and pioneered in livestock breeding, and he is credited with bringing the first Merino sheep to Minnesota. Baird and his wife Sarah helped found the

Minnehaha Grange Hall Minnehaha Grange, No. 398 was organized on December 23, 1873, with members from Edina, Minnesota, Edina Mills, Richfield, Minnesota, Richfield Mills, St. Louis Park, Minnesota, St. Louis Park, and Hopkins, Minnesota, Hopkins. The National Grange ...

in 1873 and both served as Grange Masters there at different times. Sarah Baird also led the state

Grange Grange may refer to: Buildings * Grange House, Scotland, built in 1564, and demolished in 1906 * Grange Estate, Pennsylvania, built in 1682 * Monastic grange, a farming estate belonging to a monastery Geography Australia * Grange, South Austral ...

for 18 years. In 1936, of the farm were platted as the County Club District, which itself is listed on the National Register. The home is in an excellent state of preservation, thanks to attention from current and previous owners. The house received a addition in 2002–2003 that does not detract from the original appearance when viewed from West 50th Street.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baird, George W., House Buildings and structures in Edina, Minnesota Houses completed in 1886 Houses in Hennepin County, Minnesota Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Minnesota Queen Anne architecture in Minnesota National Register of Historic Places in Hennepin County, Minnesota

Architecture

History

See also

References