Preserving Pocahontas

A stereograph, produced by local photographer Harvey Bright, shows a steam engine pulling flat cars of logs on the track between Clawson and August. August was located about three miles northeast of Marlinton on the Greenbrier River opposite Lewis Lick Run. A mill operated there until 1909.

The stereograph, or stereo view, consisted of a double set of paper prints mounted on card stock to be viewed through a stereoscope to produce a three dimensional image. They became a popular photographic medium in Europe in the mid-1800s, and through mass production methods became widely distributed in the United States by the 1880s. Stereographs reached their peak of popular distribution in the years 1902-1935 through the business efforts of such companies as the Keystone View Company and Underwood & Underwood.

From an 1874 publication on photographic progress: “The making of stereoscopic pictures is one of the most lucrative departments of photography, and the number and variety of subjects everywhere obtainable of the wonders of the world, together with the vast assortment of historical views, and local bits of interest, make a collection of endless extent and beauty.” (Photo courtesy of Ellen Doyle, ID PHP001745)

Access the “Preserving Pocahontas” Digital Library at www.pocahontaspreservation.org or www.preservingpocahontas.org

If you have historical records or photographs to be scanned for the county Historical Archive contact Preservation Officer B. J. Gudmundsson at 304-799-3989 or email info@pocahontaspreservation.org Prints of photographs are available.