Foxboro and the Legacy of Baker Street

The homestead would eventually be razed, fueling speculation that the lot would be used for a new town hall to replace the one which burned in 1900. It was not to be, but future generations would remember the familiar corner for Larimore’s Diner which boasted cooking second only to mother’s. Prior to World War II, the diner was replaced by a large brick building built for First National Stores. It would later house a bank, television showroom and eventually its present tenant, Aubuchon Hardware.

A lot had happened since members of the Baker, Belcher and Bird families looked out the windows of their homes as a town was created, a new industry took hold. They watched as we became the largest manufacturers of straw products in the nation and witnessed the unprecedented properity that brought sidewalks, street lights, electric and telephone service. Their place in history is secure, and their stately homes remain our link to the era in which they helped Foxborough come of age so many years ago.


The Legacy of the Baker Family How They Helped Shape Foxborough

	A postcard of beautiful tree-lined Baker Street in 1911.	A view of the Foxborough Common. The Bakers were a prominent part of the building of Foxboro as we know it today.
For four generations, there was not a single day in the village that was not influenced by a member of the Baker-Belcher-Bird family. Their presence was felt in government, the church, social life fraternal organizations and the business community. Baker Street, a magnificent tree-lined avenue running the depth of the Baker farm, would be named for the Deacon. Bird Street would be named for Squire Bird, who had married the Deacon’s granddaughter.
When it came time for the Bird daughters to give birth to their own children, three of them returned to the Baker homestead and the comfort of the birthing room that would now provide for the fifth generation to be sheltered in the home overlooking the Common. Those who lived in the old house left their mark on the community, just as they themselves were marked by the sadness of those terrible days in 1821, when family members from three generations were waked together in the place they had called home. The homestead would eventually be razed, fueling speculation that the lot would be used for a new town hall to replace the one which burned in 1900. It was not to be, but future generations would remember the familiar corner for Larimore’s Diner which boasted cooking second only to mother’s. Prior to World War II, the diner was replaced by a large brick building built for First National Stores. It would later house a bank, television showroom and eventually its present tenant, Aubuchon Hardware. A lot had happened since members of the Baker, Belcher and Bird families looked out the windows of their homes as a town was created, a new industry took hold. They watched as we became the largest manufacturers of straw products in the nation and witnessed the unprecedented properity that brought sidewalks, street lights, electric and telephone service. Their place in history is secure, and their stately homes remain our link to the era in which they helped Foxborough come of age so many years ago.