A new mural honoring 19th-century inventor William Emerson Baker was unveiled Sunday, July 19, at the corner of Chapel Street and Great Plain Avenue, adding another Needham story to the town's growing outdoor gallery.

The Needham Community Revitalization Trust Fund installed the 4-by-8-foot piece at 1013 Great Plain Ave. as part of its "From Needham to the World" public art series, which uses images and text to highlight Needham residents who changed the world through their work.

The trust, chaired by Paul Good, was first appointed by the Needham Board of Selectmen in June 1999. It has completed more than 40 public space projects in town, including the "Once Upon a Time" sculptures on the Town Common. At the July 2023 unveiling of a prior mural in the series honoring Life is Good co-founders Bert and John Jacobs, Good described the trust's philosophy: "The whole intention of the fund was to bring objects and experiences that would lift people's spirits."

The Baker mural turns that philosophy toward local history.

Baker, born in Roxbury in 1828, co-founded the Grover and Baker Sewing Machine Company in 1849 with Boston tailor William Grover. The company shared a patent monopoly on sewing machines with Howe and Singer, making Baker wealthy enough to retire at 40. He sold his stake in 1868 and purchased nearly 800 acres in the southwest corner of Needham at the intersection of Grove and Charles River Streets, naming the property Ridge Hill Farms.

Over two decades, Baker filled Ridge Hill Farms with more than 100 amusements, attractions, and exhibits: a museum of industry, two bear pits, an underground crystal grotto, a pleasure lake, saloons and restaurants, and a 225-room luxury hotel. The Needham History Center & Museum describes the estate as America's first amusement park. Baker also invested in the first Boston aquarium, the first Boston natural history museum (later the Museum of Science), and the origins of MIT.

Baker championed disease-free livestock and additive-free food on his estate, ideas the Needham History Center says were decades ahead of their time. He died of a heart attack in January 1888 at age 60, according to the center's records. After his death, his wife sold the property, which was eventually subdivided into residential lots.

The Baker mural is now on permanent public display at Chapel Street and Great Plain Avenue. Previous murals in the series were created by Needham graphic designer Seymour Levy. Each completed NCRTF project is given to the Town of Needham as a gift, funded entirely by private donations.