Baker Funeral Home
Fort Worth, Tarrant County, Texas
Marker Inscription
After working as a Pullman porter for the Santa Fe Railroad, James Nathan Baker, Sr. decided to open a funeral home in 1917 for Cleburne's African American Community. Licensed as an embalmer in 1922, he operated a funeral home with his mother-in-law, Mattie Gaston Barnes, in their home. In 1926, he and his wife, Ransome Antoinette, moved to Fort Worth and opened a Baker Undertaking Company at this site in a house owned by his father, The Rev. Henry Baker.The Baker Funeral Home continued to grow in the 1930s. After a building expansion, Baker added a community ambulance service in 1932, and his brother opened a third funeral home, in Mineral Wells, in 1935. Together, the three businesses served African Americans throughout the region.In 1938, James Baker founded the Diamond Mutual Burial Association, which helped clients plan for funerals arrangements. During the 1940s, he purchased People's Burial Park. The funeral home was once again remodeled and enlarged.Baker's seven children had always assisted in running the business. He retired in 1967, and after his death in 1970, his son Herbert Victor Baker (d. 1989) became president. Under his leadership, the business continued to grow.Today, Baker Funeral Home is owned and operated by the third and fourth generations of family members who continue to uphold James Baker's commitment to service. A community landmark, the funeral home is a cultural resource, with connections to Fort Worth's historic African American community and its residents, leaders, churches and cemeteries. (2004)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
After working as a Pullman porter for the Santa Fe Railroad, James Nathan Baker, Sr. opened a funeral home for Cleburne's African American community in 1917 and became a licensed embalmer in 1922. Moving to Fort Worth in 1926, he built the Baker Undertaking Company into a regional enterprise that added a community ambulance service, a burial association, and a cemetery, serving Black families across the area. Passed down through four generations, the business remains a landmark tied to Fort Worth's historic Black churches, leaders, and neighborhoods.
Why it matters
Black-owned funeral homes were pillars of African American communities under segregation, providing dignity in death and stable Black-owned enterprise when few other institutions would.
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Related people
- · James Nathan Baker, Sr.
- · Herbert Victor Baker
Themes & tags
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