Chris Brewer is the great-great grandson of Col. Thomas Baker, whose family was one of the first four families in Visalia. Baker was also the founder of Bakersfield. Chris was raised with living history, as his father, Harold Baker Brewer, was an active member of the Kern County historical community. He is a fourth generation native Californian whose family arrived in the state in 1849.

Chris is a Registered Professional Historian/Architectural Historian, certified by the California Council for the Promotion of History (CCPH). He is an Associate Architectural Historian with Caltrans, Central Region, involved in the planning of major highway projects in the San Joaquin Valley.

Chris recently was awarded the 2010 Governor's Award for Historic Preservation.

Brewer also serves as a consultant in historic preservation and architectural history to public agencies and private firms. He also owns and operates Bear State Books, publishing California history. Brewer operates Bear State Library, an archive of California and local historical material. The archive includes tens of thousands of photographic images, local historical data files, books, maps and other related material.

Brewer is published in numerous newspapers and magazines, including columns and editorials for a number of years for The Exeter Sun, frequently commenting on daily life in Exeter and the southern San Joaquin Valley. He has written numerous published articles, including the huge, multi-section historical Centennial Edition of The Bakersfield Californian in 1998. He has also authored a number of books, including the following:

Bakersfield and Kern Picture Album, with Don Pipkin; 1986, 2002.
Bakersfield's Photographic Past, 1998, 2002.
Exeter's Photographic Past, 1998.
The Golden Years of Memorial Hospital at Exeter, 1998.
Southern San Joaquin Valley Scenes, 1999.
Historic Kern County, California, 2001.
Bakersfield Picture Album, Volume 2, 2003
Historic Tulare County, California, 2004

Brewer has a number of publications planned including photographic albums on Bakersfield, Tulare County, and Kern County. He also has a book of Bakersfield history scheduled for late 2004 entitled Tales of Bakersfield. In addition he is preparing a comprehensive history of Bakersfield's founder Col. Thomas Baker.

Brewer's publishing house, Bear State Books, has 24 titles in print. Bear State Books publishes the books of Frank F. Latta, noted historian of the 1930s through 1980s. The most notable of these is the Handbook of Yokuts Indians. Brewer has recently re-published Latta's Dalton Gang Days (2002) and Death Valley `49ers (2003) and plans to republish others of Latta's works, including Black Gold in the Joaquin, Saga of El Tejon and Joaquin Murrieta and His Horse Gangs. He has published two editions of Ron Hughart's book The Place Beyond the Dust Bowl. He has also published Bill Allen's book Mooney's Oak Grove, the history of Mooney Grove in Visalia (2003). The latest set of books published by Brewer are from the Bob Powers estate in Kernville. Powers' books Indian Country and North Fork Country are the first of a series of nine books on life in the southern Sierra Nevada.

Chris and his wife own Exeter Flower Company in downtown Exeter. They also own and operate Book Garden next door.

Chris is a member of the Society of California Pioneers, the California Council for the Preservation of History, and, with his wife is a life member of the Tulare County Historical Society and the Death Valley `49ers. He also serves on the advisory committee of the Great Valley Center, in Modesto.

Besides at local bookstores like Book Garden in Exeter, his books are sold internationally including through retail locations such as Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, B. Dalton and Borders.

Feel free to contact Chris with any questions.