County of house: Montgomery County
Location of house: MO-J (Boonslick Road), Danville
Built: 1853
Architectural Style: Greek Revival
The Person:
Sylvester Marion Baker
Born: 1818 in Danville, Missouri
Died: 1899 in Danville, Missouri
"After the Baker family arrived in Missouri from Virginia in the early 1800s, they became a well-known merchant family in the county. Boonslick Road, where their store was located, was a main roadway through Missouri during the 1800s.
"In 1847, Baker married Frances Anne Stephens who was from Virginia. Baker's family was also from Virginia. Baker was the second generation to operate their store on Boonslick Road. The construction of his house began in 1849 and like other large homes, it represented success and social status to the outside world.
"Sylvester Marion Baker died on February 17, 1899, at age 80. His wife, Frances Anna Stephens Baker, died in 1900, at age 71-72. According to Find-a-Grave, they have 11 children listed, all who have passed away. Two daughters died in the early to mid-1960s." ~ CJ Combs
Baker was elected to the state legislature and although southern, voted to keep Missouri in the Union.
The night Bloody Bill Anderson came to burn the house and kill Mr. Baker, but he had gone to Jefferson City where he was a State Legislator. Anderson came here after burning Danville. Anna met him at the door with baby in arms, and they rode through the house on their horses to show their disrespect
There were 8 girls in this family, only Sally and Emma married. Emma married Ben Graham (whose family owned Grahams Cave).
Slaves in Missouri were free to leave at that time, but it was safer for them to stay. After the was Mr. Baker paid his former slaves wages to stay. He also built houses for them in the area known as "Little Africa" in Danville.
Sylvester Marion Baker's family came to Missouri from Virginia prior to his birth and soon
established themselves as a prominent merchant family in Montgomery County, with a store located along
the Boonslick Road, the main thoroughfare through Missouri in the mid-nineteenth century. In 1847,
Baker married Frances Anne Stephens, originally from Danville, Virginia. Sylvester Baker continued in the
family business, and, by 1850, the census records listed him as a merchant who owned $3000 worth of
real estate, part of which was east of Danville. Shortly after Prairie Lawn Academy was destroyed by a
tornado in 1849, Baker purchased the site, and hired a St. Louis architect and builder named Sparks to design and oversee construction of a house.' 3 The house, made of brick with fourteen-inch thick walls,
presents a substantial appearance, reflecting the nineteenth century ideas that a building was a reflection
of its use and occupants. Much of the work was apparently done by Baker's slaves, who molded the
bricks from clay dug on the property and fired in a kiln built to the south of the house. The slave census of
1850 shows S. M. Baker owned seven slaves-a fifty-five year old male, a thirty-three year old male, a
fourteen year old male, a nine year old male, a twenty-two year old female, a twelve year old female, and a
four year old female~a typical number for a slave owner of the time."1 By 1860, Baker had prospered
enough to hold 662.90 acres of land.
" ~ NRHP Nomination Form
The Place:
"The Baker House was built on the site of the Prairie Lawn Seminary, the first female seminary in Missouri west of St. Louis, which had been destroyed by a tornado in 1849. Sylvester Marion Baker purchased the property later that year, and hired St. Louis architect and builder Sparks to design and oversee construction of the house. Much of the work was done by Baker's slaves, who molded the bricks from clay dug on the property and fired them in a kiln built to the south of the house.
"The Baker House is a Greek Revival style l-house, a style popular during the mid-1800s and used frequently in Missouri by settlers from the South, who hoped to recreated the styles popular in their native
states. Baker's family came to Missouri from Virginia prior to his birth, and had established themselves as a prominent family in Montgomery County. S.M. Baker had married Frances Anne Stephens, originally from Danville, Virginia, in 1847. S.M. Baker was a well-to-do merchant, the second generation of Bakers to own a store along the Boonslick Road. The large house he began just two years after his marriage reflects the attitude of the time that a home was visible evidence of a person's social status.
"The house has a gable roof, rather than a hipped roof, with a cornice and pediment. Architectural critic Arthur Channing Downs Jr. noted that on the "better sort of detached country house ... gables are
invariably used instead of hipped roofs."' 5 The house has a twelve by twelve foot portico with pilasters and columns; the gallery above the portico has pilasters and a balustrade with sawn balusters. Downs
identified a "portico of four to six wooden columns, occasionally on two stories with wooden floors and steps" as typical of the "better" Greek Revival style houses in rural areas.'
"An elaborate door surround with side lights and transom accents the double front doors and provides visitors with an immediate impression of the substance and taste of the home's owner, an impression furthered by the open stairway with cherry wood banister and balusters, faux grained chamber doors, and molded plaster chair rail in the entry hall. The portico, elaborate door surround, and central hall help identify the house as Greek Revival style, according to McAlester and McAlester." The house's facade is symmetrical and balanced, with fireplaces on the east and west walls and with two six-over-six windows on either side of the portico on the first story and identical windows on either side of the gallery on the second story. The balanced five-bay facade is further evidence of the Greek Revival style." ~ NRHP Nomination Form
The Baker Plantation House was owned and designed by Sylvester Baker and was built by John Sparks, a Master Carpenter. It was completed in 1853. It was constructed of bricks made from clay on the property and was built by slaves. The walls are 14 inches thick.