The story
Baird & Warner was founded in on March 28, 1855 in Chicago. The company's first recorded transaction was a $5,000 loan to Edward Casey & Brothers, taking security mortgages on property along Washington Street in downtown Chicago. The firm began as a partnership between Lucious Olmsted and Lyman Baird of New Haven, Connecticut.
Lucious Olmsted died shortly after in 1862 and Baird invited Francis Bradley - also of New Haven, Connecticut - to join the firm. The company was then known as Baird & Bradley. The partners worked with East Coast investors to channel millions of dollars to the developing city, including the purchase of land for Chicago's major train station, Union Station.
From Wikipedia’s article on Baird & Warner, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3