James Heaton Baker (May 6, 1829 – May 25, 1913) was an early Minnesota pioneer, newspaper editor, and prominent Republican public servant whose career spanned state politics, federal appointments, and Civil War military service. Born in Monroe, Butler County, Ohio, Baker was educated in local schools and graduated from Ohio Wesleyan University. He began his working life in education, including leadership of a female seminary in Richmond, Indiana, before turning to journalism and public affairs—purchasing the Scioto Gazette in Chillicothe, Ohio, in 1853.

Baker entered politics in Ohio and served as Ohio Secretary of State (1855–1857). In 1857 he moved to Mankato, Minnesota—then a young frontier community—and soon became a key figure in the new state’s civic and political life. He served as Minnesota Secretary of State (1860–1862), leaving office to answer the call to military service during the Civil War. In 1862 he became Colonel of the 10th Minnesota Volunteer Infantry, later serving as Provost Marshal for the Department of Missouri (including duties associated with St. Louis) through the close of the war. He was mustered out on October 21, 1865, and was recognized for “faithful and meritorious services” with appointment as a brevet brigadier general, ranked from March 13, 1865, confirmed by the U.S. Senate in 1866.

After the war, Baker continued in public service and civic leadership. He served as Register of Public Lands at the Boonville, Missouri federal land office, and later returned to Minnesota. President Ulysses S. Grant appointed him United States Commissioner of Pensions (1871–1875), followed by service as United States Surveyor of Minnesota (1875–1879). In Mankato, Baker also shaped the region’s press: in 1879, he purchased and consolidated local newspapers into what became the Mankato Free Press. He remained active in public life as an orator, editor, and historian, including authoring a volume on Minnesota governors (1858–1905). He was also associated with Minnesota’s military and civic history beyond the Civil War era, including service connected to the Dakota Conflict period—an aspect of the era that remains historically significant and deeply painful.

Baker’s personal life included two marriages. He married Rose Lucia Thurston in Ohio on September 25, 1851; they had two sons, and she died on March 20, 1873. He later married Zula Bartlett in Mankato on December 23, 1879. Baker and Zula lived for a period at a farm near Rapidan known as “Oak Cliff,” then returned to Mankato. Baker donated land for what became Baker Park, a small park opposite his home—an enduring local landmark. He died in Mankato on May 25, 1913, and was laid to rest at Glenwood Cemetery, Section 1-A, Lot 55 (84 years, 0 months, 19 days). Contemporary reporting noted the simplicity of his funeral, with Masonic rites at the cemetery and public tributes recognizing his statewide influence.

Photo credit: Collections of the Minnesota Historical Society, Volume 13 (Public Domain). Sources compiled from Find a Grave memorial materials, Wikipedia, and a May 29, 1913 newspaper report.