City of Baird

Baird

Like so many West Texas towns, cattle trails, railroad tracks, and highway travel shaped the development of Baird. When it was established as the Callahan County Seat in 1880, Baird was a meeting place for cattle round‐ups and revelry. Devastation rattled the early years of the town - a fire in 1884, a tornado in 1895, and a spectacular three‐locomotive pile‐up in 1910. But the community pushed forward and by 1911, Baird had become such an important stop along the railroad that a new two-story passenger station was built. In 1917, the Bankhead Highway from Mineral Wells to El Paso was routed through Baird. When IH 20 bypassed the town in the late 1950s, the old section of the Bankhead Highway through Baird (US 80) became an alternate route known as IH 20 Business. Presently, a granite marker in front of the Callahan County courthouse describes the early Bankhead Highway route through Baird.