Anne "Pete" Baker was a restoration contractor, building archeologist, and consultant. She “collected” and preserved over two hundred 17th and 18th century homes and buildings in coastal Rhode Island, southeastern Massachusetts, and Connecticut. The archives holds her correspondence with the building owners, agencies and historians; her architectural and historical drawings; photographs; and related documentation concerning the restoration work.

“Every old house has a story - in its cellar, attic, and behind its walls: imprints from hinges, latches, lock and window catches; the chafe marks from daily chores and thresholds worn form years of footsteps; a broken saucer; a pewter spoon, an English coin; and the carpenter's scribe marks and Roman numerals that link the house to the day of raising. In each ancient structure there are clues to the past – if we take the time and concern to look, to learn, to touch, to document, to preserve. By so doing we will be able to give our past to the future. So simple and so essential.” From Baker, Anne W. Collecting Houses: 17th Century Houses – 20th Century Adventures, (2003).