James Louis & Ellen Austin Baker
San Saba, San Saba County, Texas
Marker Inscription
James “Jim” Louis Baker (1829-1903) and Eleanor “Ellen” Prather Austin Baker (1839-1909) married in Travis County on June 15, 1859. Jim’s family moved to Texas from Tennessee during the time of the Republic, and Ellen’s family moved to Travis County from Missouri. Jim’s father, James H. Baker, registered the “Baker B” cattle brand in 1836 in Travis County. The family acquired both cattle and wealth. In 1856, Jim and his brother George moved 6,000 head of cattle from Travis County to the newly formed San Saba County. Within five years, the herd had multiplied significantly. While traveling from Austin to the Baker home in San Saba, Jim, Ellen, their daughter Olga, and Ellen’s father were attacked by members of the Comanche Tribe in Lampasas County in 1861. Jim was wounded by multiple arrows. He recovered but was unable to assume active duty during the Civil War. After the war ended, Jim and George operated as the “baker brothers” with branded cattle ranging from the head of the San Saba river to Onion Creek in Travis County, a distance of 150 miles. Soon after, the brothers decided to move their cattle from Texas to open lands near Trinidad, Colorado, in an effort to avoid cattle raids. By 1871, Jim and George moved at least three herds to Trinidad using the Goodnight-Loving Trail. The brothers registered their own brand, the “Lazy F” (1873), and by 1878, were ready to move some of the herd to the Quitaque Peaks regions of northwest Texas, establishing the Quitaque Ranch. In January 1880, Jim and George negotiated the sale of their 140,000-acre Quitaque Ranch, 20,000 cattle and the Lazy F brand to Charles Goodnight for Cornelia and John Adair. The Bakers were able to return to their beloved San Saba and comfortably resume ranching on a limited scale. Both Jim and Ellen died at their home in Baker Valley.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Jim and Ellen Baker married in 1859 into families that had come to Texas during the Republic era, and Jim built one of the region's early cattle fortunes—driving 6,000 head into newly formed San Saba County in 1856. Their family survived a Comanche attack in 1861 that left Jim wounded, and after the Civil War he and his brother ran vast herds along the Goodnight-Loving Trail into Colorado and out to the Quitaque country of the Panhandle. In 1880 the brothers sold their 140,000-acre Quitaque Ranch and 20,000 cattle to Charles Goodnight, then returned to ranch quietly in their beloved San Saba.
Why it matters
The Bakers' herds and trail drives trace the whole sweep of the open-range cattle era, linking the settlement of Central Texas to the great trail routes and the Panhandle ranching empires.
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Related people
- · James Louis Baker
- · Ellen Austin Baker
- · Charles Goodnight
Related events
- · Goodnight-Loving Trail cattle drives
Themes & tags
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