Callahan County
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Baird
Baird, in north central Callahan County, was established in 1880 with the building of the Texas & Pacific Railroad. Named for Matthew Baird, a director of the railroad, who drove the first stake on the Texas & Pacific survey in 1875, Baird housed a roundhouse, repair shops and switches that marked the railroad division point. In 1883 Baird became the county seat for Callahan County. The post office was named Baird when established on February 7, 1881, changed to Vickery in May of 1881 and renamed Baird in February 1883. The Texas & Pacific Railroad built an Immigrant House at Baird for families to stay while searching for the land they intended to settle. A fire almost destroyed the new town in 1883, but by 1884 several stores, a hotel and a restaurant were in operation. The town was incorporated in 1888. In 1889, in the western part of Baird, the Baird College was established, it was a two story wooden building. It is not remembered if the college burned or was torn down in the early 1900's. Population reached its peak in 1926 with 2,000. Today Baird remains a small town. Baird is located at the junction of Interstate 20 and U. S. Highway 283, 20 miles east of Abilene and 130 west of Ft. Worth.