Cullen Baker Country Fair links past with present

By KARI KRAMER | East Texas Edition

Anthony Jones of Doddridge, Ark., lives in the very town where Cullen Baker was ambushed. Jones, 7, may not know the story of Cullen Baker, but that didn't keep him from suiting up in his cowboy gear and playing with a toy gun during the Country Fair. -- Staff photo by Kramer

Nov. 18, 2004 - Every fall in the Cass County town of Bloomburg, the Cullen Baker Country Fair is held. The purpose of the fair is not to honor the outlaw, but instead, to remind people of the history in Cullen Baker country.

Cullen Montgomery Baker was a real man, but the details of his life remain twisted between reality and myth. Many of those attending the Nov. 6 celebration said they were unclear of the story behind the outlaw. Some were familiar with Baker's life, others knew he existed only because the fair was named after him.

Baker was a native of Tennessee who moved to Northeast Texas with his parents when he was about 4 (future census would indicate that he was only 2) in 1839. His family originally settled northeast of present day Boston in what would eventually become Bowie County. Approximately five years later, the family moved to eastern Cass County, where Cullen Baker began growing into an infamous Texas outlaw.

Most of Baker's life can be traced to Northeast Texas, now referred to as Cullen Baker Country. Jefferson, Linden, Queen City, Atlanta, Texarkana, and areas around Mount Pleasant served as sites for Baker's infamous activities. According to the authors of "Cullen Montgomery Baker, Reconstruction Desperado," Barry A. Crouch and Donaly E. Brice, "Time and time again, throughout his life, no matter what kind of trouble followed him, Baker invariably returned to Cass County."

Baker was known as many to be a civil teenager. However, Crouch and Brice note an instance when Baker was teased as a teenage boy at a local mill. The boy, Atkinson or Adkinson, teased Baker about his homemade clothes. Baker, encouraged to standup for himself by Vaughn the miller, nearly stomped the boy to death before Vaughn intervened. From that day forth it seemed Baker was bound to live a life of trouble.

Benny Solley of Cass has been selling stone-ground cornmeal at the Cullen Baker Country Fair for five years, and has been involved in the business for over 35 years. -- Staff photo by Kramer

In the early 1850s Baker, already known as someone who over-indulged in alcohol, began creating a poor reputation for himself after a bar brawl near present-day Queen City. The book states that the serious head injuries incurred by Baker in the fight are thought by many to be responsible for his irrational future behavior.

After spending several months recovering from the incident, Baker supposedly tried to settle down, and he married Mary Jane Petty from a nearby Arkansas town. Petty eventually gave birth to Baker's only known child, Louisa.

Not a year after his marriage, Baker, still living in Forest Home, near present-day Queen City, found himself in trouble again.

Baker beat a boy in the street of Forest Home for carrying a gun. Wesley Baily testified against Baker. Later when released, Baker went to the home of Baily, a man said to be in his 50s, and shot Bailey. Some accounts state that Baker vowed only to shoot the man in the legs and Baker did not intend for Baily to die. Wesley Baily was the first man known to be murdered by Cullen Montgomery Baker, according to Crouch and Brice.

Baker fled the area after killing Baily and remained unseen until 1860, just before his first wife died. After her death, Baker left his daughter with his father-in-law.

Baker joined the Confederate army twice between the years of 1861 and 1863. He was paid for his services but was also deemed a deserter. It was during this time that Baker married Martha Foster from Bright Star, Ark. Baker seemed to deeply care for Foster, who after hearing Baker had been captured by federal forces according to one author, rode 200 miles on horseback only to find Baker unharmed.

In 1866, his wife Martha died, and Baker attempted to wed her younger sister Belle. Belle chose to marry Thomas Orr, a school teacher, who for the next few years, was the target of Baker's rage. According to Orr, Baker's foe, after Martha died, "In that grave (Baker) appeared to bury his senses, his reason, and his remaining respect for the human race."

Afterwards, Baker spent a great deal of time in Arkansas killing government officials, freedmen, and nearly anyone who wrongly crossed his eyes. Baker, thought by many to have joined the Confederate army only to have an excuse to kill, remained true to the ideals of the Confederacy and fought diligently (by many accounts) to rid the area of federal agents, freedmen, and whites who sympathized with reconstruction efforts. Crouch and Brice state, " Those sympathetic to Baker have connected his racism and guerrilla activities in Arkansas to suggest that in his own way he was 'loyal' to the Southern Cause."

Baker spent the last three years of his life successfully hiding from his enemies in Texas and Arkansas. It would not be government agents that would take Baker's life, but his vary own father-in-law and neighbors, including Orr. The details of Baker's death are assorted.

According to most information that details the last hours of Baker's life, Baker drank whiskey at the Foster's farm (now near Doddridge, Ark.) and his friend "Dummy" Kirby ate spare ribs. The two passed-out, or slept, outdoors where they were ambushed and shot. Orr has been said to have led the gang and for several years, according to Crouch and Brice, attempted to collect the reward for Baker's head, but there is no proof he was successful.

After Baker's death, his body was taken to Jefferson where it is buried. Years after Baker's death, Baker's brother-in-law, who was 12 at the time of his death, claimed that his father had poisoned the whiskey and spare ribs that Baker and Kirby consumed just before they were shot. There is no evidence to support that claim.

During his life, Northeast Texas towns were refuges for Baker. Citizens there often protected him despite his crimes, especially in the Atlanta-Queen City area. Now, 150 years later, Northeast Texas and southwest Arkansas still take time to remember Baker and the drama he contributed to area history.

The Cullen Baker Country Fair would be like any other small town gathering if it weren't for the history behind the name. Baker's influence is still present at the fair. Children play with mock-pistols, knives made from antler pieces are sold, fresh ground cornmeal is sold from the bed of a truck, and memorabilia and symbols of the Confederacy are not only sold but are displayed. The fair, not named to honor the legacy of Baker, does clearly honor the heritage of the area.

More information about Baker can be found in Crouch and Brice's book, which offers a detailed account of Bakers escapades and combines sources from Texas, Louisiana, and Arkansas.