Emerson Baker

Emerson Baker

Emerson 'Tad' Baker II, Ph.D. (born 18 May 1958) is a historical archaeologist and professor of history at Salem State College. Doctor Baker is well known in academic circles for his extensive work on witchcraft in Colonial America, as well as for his work on numerous archaeological sites along the East Coast of the United States. He currently resides in York, Maine.

Baker was born in Fitchburg, Massachusetts in 1958 and attended Applewild School and Philips Academy. Before attending Bates College in Lewiston, Maine (where he would later meet his wife and play/lead the rugby club), Emerson spent a year in the UK studying at Cranleigh School where he learned to play rugby. After graduating from Bates with a BA in History, he went on to get his masters from the University of Maine at Orono in 1983. In 1986, Doctor Baker completed his dissertation on failed Anglo-Indian relations in early Maine and received his Ph.D. in History from the College of William and Mary under the guidance of James Axtell.

After receiving his Ph.D., Doctor Baker moved to Maine with his wife and was director of the York Institute Museum until eventually taking a position at Salem State College in 1994, where he has remained since.

Doctor Baker's expertise on seventeenth century Maine led him to be one of the expert consultants on the PBS mini-series Colonial House, and further resulted in him providing historical consultation for "Parks Canada, National Geographic, Plimoth Plantation, National Park Service, Historic Salem Inc., Beverly Historical Society and many historic district commissions." He has also served as an expert witness for matters archaeological in several court cases in both Nova Scotia and Maine.