William Henry Jackson (1843-1942) was an exceptional photographer, painter, and explorer. He was the first to photograph the wonders of Yellowstone, which helped to establish that area as a national park in 1872. He was the first person to use a large-format 20 X 24 inch camera in the field. It took up to five men to carry his developing equipment on burros since developing had to be done right after the camera exposed the shot. In 1897 he went to work for Detroit Publishing and donated 10,000 of his negatives The company is now part of the Library of Congress. To know all about Jackson, check out the recently published William Henry Jackson’s Lens by Tim McNeese. It is superbly researched and well written.
Jackson, who owned a studio in Denver, had a particular fondness for Colorado, feeling it exemplified what was happening throughout the West, and, accordingly, he took an abundance of photos there. Here are several sites he photographed:
Brown Palace Hotel
The Brown Palace opened in Denver in 1892. It is the second fireproof building built in the US. The first is the aptly named The Fireproof Building from 1827 in Charleston SC. The first photo is dated ca.1905.
Spanish Peaks
The Spanish Peaks in southern Colorado were a landmark for early travelers on the Santa Fe Trail as the Peaks indicated they were approaching the Rocky Mountains. The first photo is dated ca.1880.
Roxborough Park, near Platte Canyon CO
Roxborough Park is a 4,000-acre state park located twenty miles south of Denver. The first photo is dated ca. 1870. The site is now the Arrowhead Golf Course.
Silverton CO
The first photo is dated ca. 1895.
Castle Geyser Yellowstone National Park
Castle Geyser has the largest cone of all the geysers in Upper Geyser Basin. It erupts every fourteen hours and often reaches 90 ft. The first photo is dated 1871.
