Long before the restaurants, murals, and businesses of today’s EDGE District, this part of St. Petersburg was home to some of the city’s earliest development.
Jacob Baum arrived in the area in 1876 and acquired large tracts of land in what is now the southeast corner of the EDGE District, where he established citrus groves. Twelve years later, E.R. Ward opened the first general store in town at the same corner.
Ward and Baum soon saw an opportunity to encourage additional development. The two partnered to purchase five acres of nearby land, which they divided into small, 50-foot lots. The lots sold for between $20 and $60, making the new neighborhood accessible to prospective residents.
The partners also laid out Baum Avenue to connect the development. The street became part of the growing community and is identified as the first roadway established west of Ninth Street, predating Central Avenue.
Their Ward and Baum Plat helped extend development beyond St. Petersburg’s original core. The area continued to grow as the city expanded, with businesses and industries eventually joining the residential neighborhood. Among them was the Florida Milk Company, which operated nearby on Ninth Street.
Today, Baum Avenue and the surrounding streets remind us of an earlier St. Petersburg, when citrus groves, general stores, residential lots, and emerging businesses helped shape the young city.
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