{"nrhp_refnum":"85001875","name":"Baker, Maj. John C., House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"202 W. Main St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Mechanicsburg","county":"Champaign County","state":"OH","lat":40.07531506200007,"lon":-83.55970091699999,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1985-08-29","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Commerce","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A 2½-story frame Queen Anne residence with Stick Style influence at 202 W. Main Street, Mechanicsburg, Champaign County, Ohio, built about the 1880s for Major John C. Baker, with a carriage house at the rear.","why_significant":"The house was built by Major John C. Baker, an important Mechanicsburg businessman and industrialist who founded the Mechanicsburg Machine Company, maker of the Baker grain drill. It is also one of the best examples of Queen Anne style in Mechanicsburg. It is the only building left associated with this industry in the village.","narrative":"This 2½-story frame house at 202 West Main Street in Mechanicsburg was built about the 1880s for Major John C. Baker. It sits on a large landscaped lot at the top of the hill where North Main turns into West Main, with a frame carriage house behind. The design is Queen Anne, with Stick Style influence in the brackets over the side projection and some wood trim. Typical features include irregular massing and roofline, a corner turret, a wrap-around porch with paired columns, projecting bays, second-story porches and varied window shapes. Baker founded and led the Mechanicsburg Machine Company, established in 1876, whose main product was the Baker grain drill. More than 1,600 were produced and sold in 1881, but rapid growth led to business problems and the company closed before 1900. Its brick foundry no longer stands, making this house the only surviving building tied to the industry locally. It was listed for Baker's importance and its architecture.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Built by Major John C. Baker; architect and contractor not known","architectural_style":"Queen Anne with Stick Style influence","criteria":["B","C"],"status_note":"Used as a residence; exterior condition described as very good and well maintained and preserved.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:53:14.316654-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/85001875.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/85001875/4af65b0a86-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/85001875/4af65b0a86-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Major_John_C._Baker_House.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Major_John_C._Baker_House.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71984530","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q137605828"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/ohio/champaign-county/baker-maj-john-c-house-85001875/"}