Oldest Photos Taken In Each State Show What Early America Was Really Like
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Photographic technology became widely available in the U.S. during the 1850s, allowing locals to document their lives visually. And in each state, local historians rushed to capture what was happening in their parts of the country. From Alabama to Wyoming, someone had to be one of the first people to take a picture in each state, and we’re going through the earliest images captured in all 50 to see what 19th-century America was really like.
Alabama
This image, "Sons of Edmund King of Montevallo, Alabama: William Woodson King, E. Thomas King, Peyton King, and Nathaniel King" is from around 1850. The men were the sons of a businessman from Alabama who achieved major local success. And judging by their stoic expressions, they must have been a very prominent family in Alabama!
Alaska
In 1868 Eadweard Muybridge took a picture of a group of Tlingit people who lived near Fort Tongass. Tlingit translates to “People of the Tides.” Alaska wouldn't officially become a part of the country until 1959, about a century after this meeting.
Arizona
When Americans first started visiting Arizona, they explored its beautiful, unique geographic features. On September 15, 1871, New Yorker Timothy H. O'Sullivan saw a group of people working their way through Camp Mojave, Arizona, to get to Colorado.
Arkansas
The Sultana was a handsome vessel — and an unlucky one that wouldn’t make it through the years. This picture is from April 26, 1865, the day before the boat exploded and killed 1,800 people. It remains the worst maritime disaster in American history.
