[1] Baker owned a home at 1222 W. Moss in the West Bluff neighborhood of Peoria, Illinois.
[3] In 1908, the Colean Co., a steam-powered tractor firm went bankrupt and its plant went up for sale.
[2][8][9][5][10] Baker joined the Holt Manufacturing Company in 1909 and became vice president and general manager.
[2] In 1917, he was involved in building a seven-mile stretch of Illinois Route 116 in East Peoria.
LeTourneau to bring his business to Peoria in 1935, at the Avery Manufacturing Co. site on NE Adams Street which is present-day Komatsu plant.