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On Oct. 27, 1960, the Grants Pass Daily Courier writer Amos Voorhies died on the age of 87, abandoning 1000’s of uncommon pictures documenting life in Josephine County.
Many photos have been misplaced, destroyed or thrown away.
That is till a long time later when retired historical past trainer and photographer Lloyd Smith found a field of Voorhies’ glass plate negatives at a storage sale.
This picture, circa 1900, exhibits a Grants Pass parade float promoting the Rogue River Courier and “talking machines.” The Courier newspaper modified names a number of occasions through the years.
Courtesy Lloyd Smith
Voorhies had spent practically seven a long time working in newspapers. For most of that point he traveled via Josephine County by horseback carrying a digicam and taking pictures.
In this undated picture, Grants Pass newspaper writer Amos Voorhies poses with considered one of his many cameras.
Courtesy Lloyd Smith
The photos present a uncommon glimpse into on a regular basis life in rural Southern Oregon.
The pictures embody all the pieces from studio portraits to candid household gatherings. People pose with pets, livestock, early vehicles and bicycles. They smile, snigger and mug for the digicam at a time when most pictures was stiff and formal.
After discovering the field of glass plate negatives, Smith tracked down as many Voorhies photos as he might, together with different collections from photographers within the area.
Today, the Lloyd Smith Collection consists of over 7,000 historic photos, most from Southern Oregon.
He spent years rigorously scanning the pictures and documenting any info he might discover.
Smith has posted most of these photos online. His website states, “They had film and a camera so we can now take a look at how they lived at the turn of the century.”
In this picture circa 1900, son of photographer Amos Voorhies poses with a canine in Grants Pass, Ore.
Courtesy Lloyd Smith
Watch the complete “Oregon Experience” documentary “Capturing Oregon’s Frontier,” which initially aired in April 2013.
More insights into Southern Oregon historical past:
- Building neighborhood round reality and reconciliation in Coos Bay and Grants Pass
- Over 90 years of Shakespearean magic in Ashland
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