ANNAPOLIS, MD—Governor Larry Hogan today announced that he has named Elaine Rice Bachmann as Maryland’s next state archivist. Bachmann, currently the deputy state archivist, will succeed Tim Baker, who has served as state archivist since July 2015.
The State Archives is Maryland’s central depository for government records of permanent value, with records dating back to the founding of the Maryland Colony in 1634. As state archivist, Bachmann will oversee all aspects of the agency’s operations. Bachmann began with the State Archives in 1994 and became deputy state archivist in 2015.
“Maryland is proud of its rich and diverse history, and the State Archives is charged with the important work of preserving our records for future generations,” said Governor Hogan. “Elaine is well-respected and admired for her decades of work at the State Archives. She has been particularly instrumental in a number of critical projects, including most recently the redesign of Lawyers Mall in Annapolis. I am pleased to appoint Elaine as our next state archivist. I also want to thank Tim Baker for his service, and wish him and his family well.”
Bachmann also serves as secretary of the State House Trust, which administers the area inside State Circle in Annapolis, including the State House.
“I am honored by Governor Hogan’s appointment to lead the agency where I have spent my career, and grateful to my predecessor, Tim Baker, for expertly guiding our staff and operations, particularly through the challenges of this past year,” said Bachmann. “As the repository of the state’s historical records, the Archives is integral to understanding Maryland’s past, yet as an agency we are constantly looking to the future in keeping pace with the changing nature of today’s records and how we can most efficiently make them accessible to the public. I look forward to continuing the tradition of scholarship, collaboration, and innovation that has characterized the Maryland State Archives over its long history.”
About Elaine Rice Bachmann. Elaine Rice Bachmann is the deputy state archivist of Maryland. She began her service at the Maryland State Archives in 1994 as curator of artistic property managing the state-owned art collection. She went on to serve as director of artistic property before becoming deputy to Tim Baker in 2015. In 2017, she was appointed secretary of the State House Trust. Bachmann has been integral to the implementation of the State House Visitor Experience master plan over the past decade to improve interpretive exhibits including the recreation of the historic legislative chambers. In recognition of this effort, she was the recipient of the Heritage Professional of the Year award in 2015 from Four Rivers Heritage Area.
Bachmann received her master’s degree in Early American Culture from the Winterthur Program at the University of Delaware after studying art history at Indiana University. She has written and lectured extensively on Maryland's state-owned art collection, as well as the history of the State House and Government House. She is the co-author of Designing Camelot: The Kennedy White House Restoration, based on her master’s thesis at Winterthur, which is being published in a new edition this month by the White House Historical Association. She is also the co-author of a history of Maryland’s governor’s mansion published in 2018, and a children’s book on the Wye Oak published in 2006.
A native of Indiana, Bachmann lives in Severna Park with her husband and two sons.
Bachmann’s appointment is effective July 1.
