Lorenzo Dow Baker was born in March of 1840 in Wellfleet, Massachusetts. During his younger years, Baker lived in Cape Cod and grew up fishing and eventually became a captain to many ships. Locally, he was known as a hard worker, natural leader, and a very devout man and he tended to surround himself with others of the same traits.1 Prior to the 1870’s, Baker mainly worked along the coasts of New England, fishing and sailing.2
In 1870, Baker set sail for the Caribbean aboard The Telegraph and returned with 160 bunches of bananas that had ripened too fast during the journey.3 During the winter of 1871-1872, Baker did not trade any fruit but did some research into fruit trading and developed contacts with some fruit companies in play at the time. Through various contacts, Baker discovered that there was indeed even more plentiful fruit in Jamaica, but following the purchase of a new ship, the Ruth N. Atwood, he refrained from fruit trading, possibly to avoid the risk after such a large purchase.4
In 1873, Baker sailed to Jamaica and after some months of overseeing the loading of other cargo ships, his ship was returned with marketable fruit.5 Following these voyages in 1873, Baker ceased involvement in the fruit market from 1874-1881. During this time, he founded L.D. Baker and Company with his brother, Elisha Hopkins, in the hopes of selling more bananas in the future6. Nearing the end of his period of noninvolvement, Baker developed a system for loading cargo ships by sending word to surrounding areas, advising people to bring bananas in various quantities to load aboard cargo ships that broke land in his port. Shortly after this, Baker began to hire some trusted workers to sail the Jamaican coast and collect fruit to bring back into port and load aboard United States bound ships.7
Baker began to purchase real estate for banana plantations from 1882-1888, mainly for economic security.8 Also, around this time, L.D. Baker and company fell on hard times and Baker entered an agreement with Jesse Freeman.9 In 1885, the Boston Fruit Company was formed and entered into the banana business.10 This partnership included Freeman’s Boston Fruit Company and Baker’s L.D. Baker and Company, yet to be merged. In 1888, this agreement grew to include Andrew Preston, leaving Baker as the Tropical Manager of the newly united Boston Fruit Company.11 In 1890, Freeman died, leaving the company to reorganize. This left Baker as the company’s president, but he refused to relocate to Boston despite his new title.12 Baker remained president until 1899 when Preston forced Baker to step down.13 Baker surrendered the presidency to Preston and became less involved in the fruit trade but still played a major role in the Jamaica. He maintained a presence in Jamaican business and maintained his lands, but after leaving the company, was no longer involved heavily with the fruit trade. Baker died in 1908 from a recurrent respiratory infection.14
1 Bartlett, Randolph, Lorenzo Dow Baker and the Development of the Banana Trade Between Jamaica and the United States, 1881-1890 (Ann Arbor: University Microfilms International, 1977), 19.
2 Bartlett, Lorenzo Dow Baker and the Development of the Banana Trade Between Jamaica and the United States, 1881-1890, 15.
3 Liz, “Captain Lorenzo Dow Baker knew there’s always money in the banana stand”, The Blog of Funny Names (blog), April 1, 2014, https://funnynamesblog.com/2014/04/01/captain-lorenzo-dow-baker-knew-theres-always-money-in-the-banana-stand/
4 Bartlett, Lorenzo Dow Baker and the Development of the Banana Trade Between Jamaica and the United States, 1881-1890, 30-35.
5 Bartlett, Lorenzo Dow Baker and the Development of the Banana Trade Between Jamaica and the United States, 1881-1890, 37.
6 Liz, “Captain Lorenzo Dow Baker knew there’s always money in the banana stand”
7 Bartlett, Lorenzo Dow Baker and the Development of the Banana Trade Between Jamaica and the United States, 1881-1890, 43-59.
8 Bartlett, Lorenzo Dow Baker and the Development of the Banana Trade Between Jamaica and the United States, 1881-1890, 76-79.
9 Bartlett, Lorenzo Dow Baker and the Development of the Banana Trade Between Jamaica and the United States, 1881-1890, 152.
10 “Boston Fruit Company”, Encyclopedia.com, Accessed February 25, 2020u\
11 Bartlett, Lorenzo Dow Baker and the Development of the Banana Trade Between Jamaica and the United States, 1881-1890, 181.
12 Bartlett, Lorenzo Dow Baker and the Development of the Banana Trade Between Jamaica and the United States, 1881-1890, 216-221.
13 Morgenroth, Lynda, Boston Firsts: 40 Feats of Innovation and Invention that Happened First in Boston and Helped Make America Great (Boston: Beacon Press, 2006), 19.
14 Bartlett, Lorenzo Dow Baker and the Development of the Banana Trade Between Jamaica and the United States, 1881-1890, 231.