VILLAGE OF BALDWIN, WISCONSIN

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The village of Baldwin did not just appear. It was a dream formulated in the mind of a Vermont man who literally made his dream come true. The Honorable Dana Reed Bailey, a young lawyer at heart, owned hundreds of acres of land in this area and realized that the railroad would be building somewhere right near his land. He suffered from poor health and wanted to go west to improve. He decided he would try to get the railroad through his land and build a large saw mill and flour mill. His father-in-law, Mr. Clapp, already owned part of a small saw mill operation just south of Baldwin about one mile. The mill was called Daniell's Mill by some and Clapp's Mill by others. Mr. Clapp turned his interest of the operation over to D. R. Bailey. Mr. Bailey came west to this very area and got to work making a town out of his farm. He also kept a large portion of his land and made the "Messenger" farm where he became famous for his great shorthorn purebreds.

When the train first came through on the bitter cold night of November 24, 1871, there was a group of people sitting around a fire near the depot waiting to go east on the train. That same train brought in the A. C. Ayerses who were one of the first families from Vermont to come make their home in this place. The depot was first called Clarkesville after the first railroad agent here but was later changed by the railroad authorities to Baldwin to honor their president of the West Wisconsin Railroad, Mr. D.A. Baldwin. You see, if it hadn't been for Mr. Baldwin, the train would not have come through for several years and if it hadn't been for the train coming through, Mr. Bailey would never have started our village!

Baldwin was called the "hub" of St. Croix. It grew like a wild fire spreads, rapidly. Within a year, there were many homes and an amazing number of businesses. It had three hotels in a short period of time and even they could not house all of the travelers. As soon as a house was built, there were ten families wanting to rent it. People then felt that Baldwin would grow into a large city! It was very exciting place to live in the 1870's and 80's. Today, it is a more relaxing place to live. The Windmill Park lends a beauty to all those who pass on Hwy. 63. Stop in a visit with our attendants who are at the Windmill from Memorial Day to Labor Day.

Material taken from Baldwin Telecom Directory written by Sandy Burleigh.

Baldwin Community Page

St. Croix On-Line

The village newspaper is The Baldwin Bulletin.