Florida Memory • History of Baker County

Florida Memory is administered by the Florida Department of State, Division of Library and Information Services, Bureau of Archives and Records Management. The digitized records on Florida Memory come from the collections of the State Archives of Florida and the special collections of the State Library of Florida.

State Archives of Florida

ArchivesFlorida.com
State Archives Online Catalog
ArchivesFlorida.com
ArchivesFlorida.com

State Library of Florida

Related Sites

Listen: The Assorted Selections Program

Description of previous item

Description of next item

History of Baker County

Page

of 3

Download Citation

Source

State Library of Florida, WPA - Historical Records Survey, County Histories

Description

Brief history of Baker County, Florida collected by the Works Progress Administration's Historical Records Survey.

Date

ca. 1939

Creator

Works Progress Administration, Historical Records Survey

Format

Local Histories

Coverage

Depression Era Florida (1926-1939)

Personal Subjects

Baker, James M.
Macclenny, Carr B.

Corporate Subjects

Glen St. Mary Nursery
South States Nurseries

Subjects

Cities and towns--History
Florida--Baker County
Olustee, Battle of (Florida : 1864)
Works Progress Administration, Historical Records Survey

Geographic Term

Baker County
Sanderson
Macclenny

Note to Researchers:

Though the WPA field workers included extensive citations for the factual information contained in these county histories, it should be noted that these historical narratives were produced in the 1930s by federal government employees, and might reflect the inherent social biases of the era.

COPY

HISTORY OF COURT HOUSE
BAKER COUNTY

The first Court House in Baker County was erected in 1861 at Sanderson, Florida, then the County Seat. This was destroyed by fire in 1877 at which time all county records were lost. A new building was erected soon after in the same year.

On February 7th, 1886, the County Seat was moved to Macclenny where a building was erected that year, the Court House in Sanderson being sold and later destroyed by fire.

The present Court House was erected between August and December of 1908, the previous building being rented and destroyed by fire in 1924.

Above information taken from the Minutes of the County Commissioners.

Title

History of Baker County

Subject

Cities and towns--History

Florida--Baker County

Olustee, Battle of (Florida : 1864)

Works Progress Administration, Historical Records Survey

Description

Brief history of Baker County, Florida collected by the Works Progress Administration's Historical Records Survey.

Creator

Works Progress Administration, Historical Records Survey

Source

State Library of Florida, WPA - Historical Records Survey, County Histories

Date

1939 (circa)

Format

local histories

Language

eng-US

Type

Text

Identifier

wpa_county_history_baker_01

Coverage

Depression Era Florida (1926-1939)

Thumbnail

/fpc/memory/omeka_images/thumbnails/wpa_county_histories.jpg

Geographic Term

Baker County (Fla.)

Sanderson (Fla.)

Macclenny (Fla.)

Display Date

ca. 1939

ImageID

wpa_county_history_baker_01_01

wpa_county_history_baker_01_02

wpa_county_history_baker_01_03

Subject - Corporate

Glen St. Mary Nursery

South States Nurseries

Subject - Person

Baker, James M.

Macclenny, Carr B.

Transcript

WPA

COPY

HISTORY OF BAKER COUNTY

On February 8, 1861, Baker County, one of the smaller counties in northeastern Florida was formed from part of New River County. Baker was the thirty-eighth county formed in the State and was named for James M. Baker, former Judge of the Fourth Judiciary District.

Sanderson, Fl., a small village twelve miles West of Macclenny was the county seat of Baker County until the Court House was destroyed by fire in 1877. After the fire the county seat was made Darbyville, now known as Macclenny, and a new Court House built. In 1900 the frame building used as a Court House in Darbyville burned. All county records except one Justice Docket were destroyed by the fire. The present Court House in Macclenny was built in 1900.

Macclenny was known as Darbyville until 1899, when the name was changed to Macclenny, in honor of Carr B. Macclenny, a sawmill and lumber man who settled here.

Baker County borders on the Georgia Line and is advantageously located for the ready marketing of truck and fruit crops as well as dairy and poultry products. One of the smaller counties of this section, it has a total area of 353,064 acres, only 37,453 of which are in actual cultivation. The county has resources which are of much potential value and proper development will prove their economic worth.

Corn and peanuts are the leading general farm crops, and the acreage of cotton has been increased in recent years. Large plantings of pecans have been made, some of which are already bearing commercially, and satsumas, peaches, pears, and plums are also grown in many sections of the county.

Lumber and naval stores products have long been a source of much revenue and the turpentine and rosin industries are still operated on a considerable scale.

Many new homes have been built in Macclenny within the past three years. Near Macclenny are two of the largest nurseries in Florida—Glen St. Mary's and the Southern States Nurseries—which are among the leading nurseries of the South.

The Florida Forest Service has begun organized work in this county. This unit has three 100-foot steel observation towers, forty-one miles of telephone, three lookout men, five registered fire crews and a number of emergency helpers.

COPY

History of Baker County Cont'd

Baker County is served by three railroads—the Atlantic Coast Line, Seaboard Air Line and the Georgia Southern and Florida State Highway No. 1, a splendid concrete highway which is an important unit in the State's transportation system, traverses the county near its center.
No part of the County is more than fifty miles from Jacksonville, a metropolis and one of the leading marketing centers of Florida.
Poultry raising is one of the most promising industries of the county, there being a number of large flocks already producing eggs and birds for shipment by truck to Jacksonville and other points. The eradiction [sic] of the cattle fever tick has been completed in this county.
There are eighteen elementary schools in the County and two High Schools, the larger of which is maintained at Macclenny.
Excellent drinking water is obtained in parts of the county. Tobacco is being grown on a large scale in the County and is one of the most promising industries.
The battle of Olustee was fought in Baker County during the Civil War, and an imposing monument now marks the scene of that sanguinary struggle. Population of the County at present is 7,173, in 1870 the population was 1,325.

Value of school property is $103,936. Macclenny is the only incorporated town in the County.

Note: I have read the history of the County as compiled by Mrs. Thomas and found it complete and correct.

W. C. Winger.

COPY

HISTORY OF COURT HOUSE
BAKER COUNTY

On February 7th, 1886, the County Seat was moved to Macclenny where a building was erected that year, the Court House in Sanderson being sold and later destroyed by fire.

The present Court House was erected between August and December of 1908, the previous building being rented and destroyed by fire in 1924.

Above information taken from the Minutes of the County Commissioners.

Chicago Manual of Style

Works Progress Administration, Historical Records Survey. History of Baker County. 1939 (circa). State Archives of Florida, Florida Memory. <https://www.floridamemory.com/items/show/321077>, accessed 22 April 2025.

MLA

Works Progress Administration, Historical Records Survey. History of Baker County. 1939 (circa). State Archives of Florida, Florida Memory. Accessed 22 Apr. 2025.<https://www.floridamemory.com/items/show/321077>

AP Style Photo Citation

(State Archives of Florida/Works Progress Administration)

Florida Memory is a digital outreach program providing free online access to select archival records from collections housed in the State Library and Archives of Florida. Florida Memory digitizes materials that illuminate the state's history and culture.

Additional Links

Florida Memory is funded under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act from the Institute of Museum and Library Services. Florida's LSTA program is administered by the Department of State's Division of Library and Information Services.

For FY2024-25, the percentage of total costs for the Florida Memory program financed with federal money is 66%; the federal dollar amount to be spent on the program is $614,955. This program does not receive any non-governmental funding.

State Archives of Florida

State Library of Florida

Related Sites

Reconstruction era voting records

Florida's first automobile registrations

Milestones in Florida's political framework

Letters, ephemera and other historical records

Documenting Florida's chief executive officers

Description of previous item

Description of next item

History of Baker County

Source

Description

Date

Creator

Format

Coverage

Personal Subjects

Corporate Subjects

Subjects

Geographic Term

Note to Researchers:

Title

Subject

Description

Creator

Source

Date

Format

Language

Type

Identifier

Coverage

Thumbnail

Geographic Term

Display Date

ImageID

Subject - Corporate

Subject - Person

Transcript

Chicago Manual of Style

MLA

AP Style Photo Citation