Background
BakerLivingston Low Baker (1827-1892), Robert Muirhead Hamilton (1830-1893) and James Lloyd Lafayette Franklin Warren (1805-1896)
joined together in 1849 on Mormon Island to sell provisions, tools, and general supplies to those seeking fortune in the
gold fields. Their first establishment was a canvas tent. In the fall of 1850 the partners moved to Sacramento City where
they opened a store, Warren & Company, at the foot of J Street (11 J Street), convenient to the Sacramento River. In October
or November 1853, Warren sold his interest in the store to his partners, and focused on the publication of a newspaper, the
California Farmer. The new firm, Baker & Hamilton, concentrated on agricultural implements and general hardware. In 1856
it expanded to 9 J Street. In December of 1867 the firm opened a branch in San Francisco at 13 to 19 Front Street. In
1868 Baker & Hamilton established a factory in San Leandro to manufacture farming implements. The first Baker & Hamilton
catalog appeared in 1874. In January 1880 the factory was moved to Benicia where it occupied a former Pacific Mail Steamship
Company plant. In 1882, having outgrown the original San Francisco Front Street headquarters, B&H moved into a new building
at the junction of Pine, Market and Davis Streets.
Restrictions
Copyright has not been assigned to the California State Railroad Museum. All requests for permission to publish or quote from
manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the CSRM Archivist. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the CSRM
as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must
also be obtained by the reader.