Christopher Thomas Baer

Christopher Thomas Baer, of Haverford and Lima, PA, passed away from medical complications on June 11, 2025 at age 77. He was the only child of the late William Baer and Harriet Constance Baer (nee Hammond) and was born on September 12, 1947, in Jersey City, NJ. He never married and had no known next-of-kin.

Chris was raised on West 30th Street in Bayonne, NJ. Almost from his infancy, Chris' mother installed into him a great appreciation for history, culture and the arts, frequently taking him around the major cultural institutions in the New York City area. He also started a life-long interest in railroading, as his home was a scant 1,000 feet from the Central Railroad of New Jersey's main line to its waterfront Terminal on the Hudson River (today's Liberty State Park).

Chris was an outstanding student in grade and high school, graduating near the top of his class from Bayonne High School in 1965. He then entered the School of Architecture at the University of Virginia. While there he became one of the intellectual leaders of his class, writing a number of scholarly articles on architectural history. When not involved with research, he delighted his friends with his wide-ranging sense of humor, which often took the form of intricately fashioned songs. He graduated in 1970 with a bachelor’s degree in architecture.

Joining a small Manhattan architecture firm, he realized after a few years that the depressed economy in the 1970's, and the lack of building construction in the city would not be conducive to a solid architectural career, and he decided to change directions. In August 1977 Chris responded to a job posting for an intern at the Hagley Museum and Library near Wilmington, DE. He was hired and became an Archival Specialist. The scope of Chris’ intellectual knowledge was soon recognized, and he was appointed Assistant Curator of the Manuscripts and Archives Department. Upon retirement in December of 2018, Chris was given an office at Hagley’s Center for the History of Business, Technology and Society where he continued his role as Curator Emeritus.

Chris’ keen understanding of the industrial revolution, and its impact on the mid-Atlantic region, is mirrored in Hagley’s collections. The Reading and Pennsylvania railroads, Westmoreland Coal Company, Phoenix Steel and Bridge Company, and the New Jersey Southern Railroad Company are a few of the industrial giants whose records were meticulously described by Baer. He returned to college, graduating in 1980 with a master’s degree in history from the University of Delaware.

One of Chris' most notable career accomplishment was to head a multi-library team in the early 1980's to quickly review, sort and save representative historical records of the underlying railroad companies that were merged into Conrail, dominated by the stupendous 400,000 cubic feet of paper of the records for the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) from the 1820's to 1968, which became America's largest corporation by the later 1800's. He went on to compile an almost day-by-day diary of the PRR's entire history, and his PRR Chronology is highly regarded in the field (http://www.prrths.com/newprr_files/Hagley/PRR_hagley_intro.htm).

He also prepared a seminal history of the Central Railroad of New Jersey in 1994, co-authored with William J. Coxey and Paul W. Schopp "The Trail of the Blue Comet". This large work was the winner of the 1997 George W. and Constance M. Hilton Book Award of the Railway and Locomotive Historical Society.

After retirement, Chris regularly visited the Bryn Mawr Library to continue his never-ending research. He also found time for his other interests. Music and writing lyrics for happenchance moments in everyday life gave him an outlet for his ever-creative, non-stop mind. While his health deteriorated in later years, he still continued his detailed historical researches up to his final days.

A Graveside Service to honor Chris’ life will take place on Wednesday, June 18, 2025, at 11:30 AM at Bay View Cemetery, 321 Garfield Avenue, Jersey City, NJ 07305.

In lieu of flowers, contributions in Chris’ memory can be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, https://stjude.org/donate/.