. In 1926 James Nathan Baker, Sr. and his wife, Ransome Antoinette, opened Fort Worth’s first funeral home for African Americans in a two-story house owned by Mr. Baker’s father, the Reverend Henry Baker, founder of Baker’s Chapel AME Church. As the business grew, the building was expanded in the 1930s. Baker founded the Diamond Burial Association in 1938. In 1947, Baker purchased neighboring property and again expanded the building using surplus material purchased from the federal government. The façade and sides of the building were sheathed in brick. Black contractors worked on the project. The business continues to be operated by the third and fourth generations of the Baker family. The building appears to be eligible for the National Register of Historic Places for its association with a business of importance to the black community in Fort Worth.
