Newton Businesses Archives - Harvey County Historical Society

A Gentleman and a No. 1 Artist: Pioneer Photographers Part 2

Posted on August 25, 2023August 29, 2023 by hchm-curator

Previously published August 29, 2013 at Voices of Harvey County: A Gentleman and a No. 1 Artist: Pioneer Photographers Part 2 (harveycountyvoices.blogspot.com)

by Kristine Schmucker, HCHM Curator

For Part 1 of this two-part series on Newton’s earliest photographers click here.

“A Gentleman and a No. 1 Artist”

The first photographer to advertise in the Newton Kansan was Charles Gillingham. Gillingham was married in Leavenworth County, Ks on March 8, 1871. By 1880 Gillingham is in Newton working as a photographer at the corner of Main St and Broadway. His regular advertisements in the Newton Kansan guarantee satisfaction with the photographs or there will be no charge. According to one ad, Gillingham had “more than four years of experience taking photographs in Washington City, D.C.” His specialty was groups and baby pictures.

On August 12, 1880 disaster struck Gillingham. At around twelve o’clock in the night, a coal oil lamp exploded in the adjacent Golden Gate newspaper office in Newton. The resulting fire destroyed the building. Sadly, the photograph gallery belonging to C.L. Gillingham,

“which stood at the southwest corner of the Gate office was, with its glassy contents, entirely demolished. . . . The loss to Mr. Gillingham is a rather serious one. A large number of valuable negatives were entirely demolished which can never be replaced.” (Newton Kansan 12 August 1880, p.2)

Probably a great deal of Newton early history was destroyed that night.

Ready for Business Again

Gillingham did attempt to recover from the fire. A week later, the Newton Kansan reported that he was erecting a 12 x 26 brick building at the corner of Main and Broadway. The editor encouraged people to be supportive of “Charley, a gentleman and a No. 1 artist.” By August 26, he was “ready for business again in better shape than ever.”

Newton Kansan, 16 September 1880

After September 1880, the advertisements for Gillingham, “the shadow catcher”, no longer appear in the Kansan. Gillingham does not appear in the 1885 City Directory. Only two photos in our collection have Gillingham’s mark on the back. Other than the Summer of 1871 photo, these are the earliest photos of Newton in the museum’s collection.

Identified as South Main Street. Looking north from the corner of 1st and Main, Newton Ks, pre-1875

North Main, Newton, Ks
Taken from just north of Broadway looking south. Old Masonic Temple along northeast corner of east Broadway & Main. pre-1880.

Although there are no definitive answers to ‘who’ took the “Summer of 1871” photo of Newton’s Main St., one possibility is Charles Gillingham, a photographer who was in Kansas in 1871. When he left Newton sometime in the fall of 1880, he may have left fellow photographer, F.D. Tripp, the negative. Tripp then reprinted the photo, mounted it using his logo and in doing so, preserved this brief glimpse at Newton’s very beginnings.

Research Notes:
F.D. Tripp was quite hard to pin down. If we knew for certain his age in the summer of 1871, a clearer idea of who actually took the photo could be determined. Depending on which document is correct, his birth year is given as:

1856 (1887 Harvey County Tax Rolls & 1947 Obituary); 1857 (1886 Harvey County Tax Rolls); 1858 (1870 Census);1859 (1880 Census); 1866 (1900 Census).

For the purposes of this blog post, a time span of roughly 1856-1858 was assumed for the birth year of F.D. Tripp.

Sources

Newton Kansan, 1872-1881.
Newton Kansan, 8 January 1880, p. 1
Newton Kansan, 12 August 1880, p. 2.
Newton Kansan, 19 August 1880, p. 2.
Newton Kansan, 26 August 1880, p. 3.
Newton Kansan, 16 September 1880, p. 2..
Evening Kansan-Republican, September 6, 1947, p.1.
Newton City Directories, 1885, 1887, 1902, HCHM Archives.
United States Census, 1870, 1880, 1900.
Newton Voter Registration Index 1882-1902, HCHM Archives.
Harvey County Marriage License Index, 1882, HCHM Archives.
Anthony’s Photographic Bulletin, Vol. 27, Google Books, p. 382.

At the Corner of Main and Broadway: Pioneer Photographers, Part 1

Posted on August 25, 2023August 25, 2023 by hchm-curator

First published on August 22, 2013 Voices of Harvey County: At the Corner of Main and Broadway: Pioneer Photographers, Part 1 (harveycountyvoices.blogspot.com)

by Kristine Schmucker, HCHM Curator

“At the Corner of Main and Broadway” is Part 1 of a two part series featuring two early Harvey County photographers.

Pioneer Photographer of Newton

A small notice on the front page of the Evening Kansan-Republican on 6 September 1947 reported the sad news that “another old timer passes.” Frank D. Tripp, “pioneer photographer of Newton” died at the age of 91 in Pueblo, Colorado.

Tripp has been credited with taking the earliest photo we have of Newton dated the “Summer of 71,” but was he? Tripp certainly was a well-known photographer in Harvey County throughout the 1880s and 1890s.

The 1880 Census lists Frank Tripp, age 21, living in Newton, Ks, working as a photographer. He was born in New York in 1859.

F.D. Tripp, ca. 1880

He, and another photographer, John Silverthorn, also 21, were business partners in 1880. The Newton Art Gallery was located in the “Diamond Block, Newton, Kansas.”

Newton Kansan, 27 Jan. 1881, p.3

Silverthorn was only in Harvey County for a year, before moving on, leaving F.D. Tripp as the sole photographer at the Newton Art Gallery.

Perhaps one of the earliest photos by Tripp.

Unidentified Man
Photo by Tripp

In 1882, Tripp married Laura F. Purcell on December 26 in Harvey County. They established a home in Newton and had three children; Homer, George and Genevieve.

Tripp worked as a photographer in Newton from 1880 through 1900.

Photos by F.D. Tripp

Photo by Tripp

By 1885, Tripp’s business was located at the corner of Main and Broadway in Newton.

Young John C. Nicholson by Tripp.

John C. Nicholson, 1886
HCHM Photo Archives

Newton High School Class of 1896

Newton High School Class of 1896
Photo by Tripp

He often displayed his work in the show windows of Main St. businesses during the Cin Quinto festivities. In 1897 he served as President of the Photographers Association of Kansas.

Sometime between 1900 and 1902, Tripp and his family move to Pueblo, Co, where he continued to work as a photographer at “Tripp and York Photographers”. Laura, his wife, died August 5, 1929 and was buried in a family plot at the Roselawn Cemetery, Pueblo, Co.. Eighteen years later, Frank D. Tripp was also buried there.

Who Took the 1871 Photograph of Newton?

While researching F.D. Tripp’s life, a mystery emerged. Who was the actual photographer of the 1871 photograph? Because of Tripp’s logo on the photo card, he usually get the credit for taking the photo. Research revealed that in 1871, Tripp would have been twelve years old based on information in his obituary, censuses and other records. An 1870 Census lists a 12-year-old Frank Tripp in the household of George and Caroline Tripp in New York. It seems unlikely that a teenage Tripp took the photo in Kansas a year later.

Were there other photographers that could have taken the photo? Part two of Pioneer Photographers will be posted next week.

Sources

Newton Kansan, 1872-1881.
- Newton Kansan, 8 January 1880, p. 1
- Newton Kansan, 12 August 1880, p. 2.
- Newton Kansan, 19 August 1880, p. 2.
- Newton Kansan, 26 August 1880, p. 3.
- Newton Kansan, 16 September 1880, p. 2..
Evening Kansan-Republican, September 6, 1947, p.1.
Newton City Directories, 1885, 1887, 1902, HCHM Archives.
United States Census, 1870, 1880, 1900.
Newton Voter Registration Index 1882-1902, HCHM Archives.
Harvey County Marriage License Index, 1882, HCHM Archives.
Anthony’s Photographic Bulletin, Vol. 27, Google Books, p. 382.

A Photo Album: 519 Main, Newton, 1879-1992.

Posted on October 19, 2018 by hchm-curator

by Kristine Schmucker, HCHM Curator

With the recent crumbling of the front facade of the building at 519 Main, Newton, and the discussions of how to proceed, we thought it might be of interest to take a look back at the building at 519 Main.

Probably the second oldest photo in the museum’s collection of Newton’s Main Street. Taken in 1879-1880, the photo is of the west side of the 500 Block looking south.

500 Block Main, Newton, 1879-1880

Opera House

Recent research has also revealed that an earlier Opera House was located at 519 Main.

519 Main, Newton, Kansan 50th Anniversary Edition. 1922
Sprinkler’s Furniture & Undertaking

519 Detail
Opera House 1878

Parades

Although the photographer meant to focus on floats and bands, a lot of clues can be gathered from parade photos. From 1900 on through present day, these photos highlight a changing Main Street.