A handsome suite of photographs documenting Mendocino county in the 1880s. Included are beautiful landscapes, scenic views of the Redwoods, shots of the lumber industry and images of local ranches....
A handsome suite of photographs documenting Mendocino county in the 1880s. Included are beautiful landscapes, scenic views of the Redwoods, shots of the lumber industry and images of local ranches.
Identified locations include: Hoak’s Ranch; Cahto; Cahto, Long Valley (2 photos); Westport Landing; Leonard Lake (3 photos); Hatch’s Mill, Sherwood Valley; Eden Valley Mountain; Blue Lake; and a view of Ukiah, Ca, seen “N.W. from Courthouse.” There is also a portrait of a Native American woman identified as “Sally” and another titled “at home” showing a group of Native Americans, possibly members of the Cahto or Pomo tribe. There is also a photo titled “in the woods,” one titled “in the Redwoods” and the remainder are untitled.
The photographs were presumably taken by Aurelius O. Carpenter, as we have found other examples bearing his credit. Carpenter, a photographer, author and Abolitionist, was born in Vermont in 1836. In the mid-1850s, they traveled west to Kansas and Carpenter joined John Brown fighting in the Battle of Black Jack. He sustained injuries while fighting and, during his recovery, fell in love with and married his nurse, Helen McCowan. They moved to California and settled in Mendocino County in 1859. They opened a photo studio in Ukiah and he spent the next 40 years documenting the area. His daughter, Grace Carpenter Hudson, became a renowned painter recognized for her work creating portraits of members of the nearby Pomo tribe.