Baker House-The Oldest Cracker House in West Pasco - Holiday FL

Known locally as the Baker House, this home was built in the early 1882 by Samuel Baker who bought 40 acres of land at $1 per acre to grow oranges. The Baker House was placed on the National Register of Historical Places in 1997. Baker House has been lovingly restored and is opened once a month (third Saturday) to the public. All of this is made possible by the Elfers Centennial Garden Club, a great group of hard-working people. The main building houses a livingroom and bedroom downstairs, and two bedrooms upstairs. The staircase is narrow and short on head room; so if you go: duck. A lot of the furniture belonged to the Baker family. The kitchen is a separate wooden building because of the possibility of fire in these wooden buildings. Diane Galemmo in her very interesting and informative article in the Neighborhood News tells us why the houses were called "Cracker" Houses. The term "cracker" refers to cowboys who cracked their whips to move the cattle on. (And, I thought it had something to do with cheese!). If you get a chance on Feb 20, the Garden Club tells me that it will be open from 10am-2pm so stop in; it's well worth the visit. It is located at 5754 Moog Rd., in Centennial Park. Centennial Park also houses the Anderson Home (also on the National Register of Historic Homes) and the Centennial Park Library.