The Pound legacy in Gainesville centers around Baird Hardware, Inc. Eberle Baird opened the business in 1890 at the east side of the courthouse square in Gainesville. It was a family business, the center of town and a place where people would see everyone they knew. Through dedicated work for Baird Hardware and strong financial leadership, C. Addison Pound, Sr. eventually purchased the company. The store finally closed its doors in 1980. Baird Hardware served the University of Florida for decades, offering large inventories at wholesale prices.

After closing, part of the Baird Hardware property was donated to the University to support scholarships in engineering and business. Annie Pound explained during an interview in 1981, “My husband felt the University would be the making of Gainesville, and he was right. He was a freshman the first year it was here. He gave to the University while he lived and he would thoroughly approve of this gift of their property to UF.”

C. Addison Pound, Jr. graduated with a degree in mechanical engineering in 1935, and members of subsequent generations of the Pound family graduated from U