We might all have high definition cameras in our pockets nowadays but you’d have to go back to 1826 or 1827 to find the first image ever captured on a camera by Joseph Nicephore Niepce, or at least the oldest picture to survive.
As for the oldest photograph in America, we thought it would be interesting to gather together the oldest (surviving) photos for each state of our great land. Some are landscapes, some are portraits, but all of them capture a moment in American history that will be forever frozen in time.
So, let’s take a look at some of the amazing images snapped for the very first time in each state.
1. Alabama
This picture is entitled “Sons of Edmund King of Montevallo, Alabama: William Woodson King, E. Thomas King, Peyton King, and Nathaniel King”, and according to the Alabama Department of Archives and History, it was taken back in the 1850s.
Edmund King of Montevallo was a successful planter and businessman in Alabama and he was really involved in activities in order to help the society. He donated land for churches and schools.
In 1817 he built his house, and after his death, it was used as a classroom, but also for medical and economical activities. Today, the building is considered a historic residence and it’s used as a guest house.
2. Alaska
This 1868 image was captured by legendary artist Eadweard Muybridge while he was visiting Fort Tongass. Many decades before Alaska would become part of the United States, he snapped this image of a group of Tlingit People living in the area.
3. Arizona
The picture is entitled The start from Camp Mojave, Arizona and it was taken back in September 1871. It shows the beginning of an expedition that was about to start from Arizona, all the way through Colorado.
4. Arkansas
One of the earliest photographs taken in Arkansas is a picture of the steamboat Sultana, the ship that was involved in the worst maritime disaster in US history.
One of the boilers exploded, which destroyed part of the boat, and that led to sinking. More than 1800 people were killed (even more than the Titanic, when 1512 people died) and the majority of them were soldiers that were involved in the Civil War.
This picture was taken just one day before the tragedy, on April 26, 1865. Nowadays, there are even museums that provide public access to events in order to inform people about this tragic event.
5. California
The picture was taken back in the 1860s, and it’s a landscape photograph of Los Angeles Plaza. The photographer’s name is unknown.
The plaza area was the center of Los Angeles’ community throughout the 19th century and it was considered the social and commercial center of Los Angeles.
LA’s oldest district became a living museum where you can find a variety of attractions, like Olvera Street, a Mexican marketplace where you can find a lot of traditional shops, but it’s also the place where a lot of events are taking place every year, like Cinco de Mayo or Dia de Los Muertos.
Another famous landmark is The Avila Adobe, the oldest house in LA, which still exists and it’s located in its original location.
6. Colorado
The oldest known picture of Colorado represents the Colorado River and it was taken by Timothy O’Sullivan back in 1871.
The photographer was pretty famous in the West side of America and it was widely known for his work that was related to the Civil War.
7. Connecticut
One of the earliest pictures taken in Connecticut shows the attendees of the Gunnery Camp, the first summer camp that took place in America.
Nowadays it’s a boarding school near Litchfield Hills.
8. Delaware
The oldest photograph from Delaware was taken back in 1860 and it is a picture of Benjamin Thomas Biggs. He was the 46th Governor of Delaware, representing the state as a Democrat.
Before that, he was a member of the Whig Party, where he started his political career. He took part in the development of the Delaware Constitutional Convention of 1852. He switched to being a Democrat after the convention was rejected.
Courtesy of Library of Congress
9. Florida
This photograph taken around 1862 and taken by a Union soldier named Sam Cooley, shows the Federal Navy and seaborne expeditions against the Atlantic Coast of the Confederacy, specifically of Florida, who had joined the Confederacy during the Civil War but was quickly conquered.
10. Georgia
The earliest picture taken in Georgia shows Howell Cobb, a Southern Democrat, well-known in the political history of America. The photograph was taken back in 1844.
He had several political roles during his career. He was the 40th Governor of Georgia, a member of the United States House of Representatives, and Speaker of the House, and he also served as a Secretary of the Treasure.
11. Hawaii
During the early 1880s, Hawaii was still an independent kingdom and it wasn’t part of the United States yet, but there are some photographers that went there during those times. This picture taken in 1893 is a portrait of Princess Ka’iulani holding flowers.
According to Five Minute History, her name means “the highest point of heaven” or “the royal sacred one” in the Hawaiian language.
She died young at the age of 23 due to inflammatory rheumatism after she was caught in a storm and came down with pneumonia.
12. Idaho
This photograph that was taken around the 1860s is a picture showing a tributary of the famous Snake River.
13. Illinois
The earliest photograph from Illinois shows another important political figure, Stephen Douglas, Abraham Lincoln’s political rival. He was photographed back in 1844, two years before Lincoln.
Stephen A. Douglas was a Democratic senator, while his challenger, Abraham Lincoln, was a Republican. They had seven public debates on the issue of slavery that was a subject of interest back then because of its expansion into many American territories.
14. Indiana
Rebel prisoners in Camp Morton is the description of this photograph. It was taken during the Civil War by Eben P. Cutter and it shows prisoners from Camp Morton, Indianapolis.
The place was used during the Civil War for military training and it was named after Indiana’s Governor, Oliver Morton.
15. Iowa
George Wallace Jones was photographed back in 1844. He was jailed during the Civil War for being suspected of supporting the Confederacy.
16. Kansas
Samuel C. Pomeroy is the person from one of the earliest pictures taken in Kansas. He was highly involved in the political world. He started his career as a teacher, but soon he entered the Massachusetts house of representatives.
He was also part of the Republican Party and it was elected as one of Kansas’s first senators back in 1861. Pomeroy was a huge activist for human rights and he was supporting the idea of women having the right to vote.
17. Kentucky
A faded, messed-up picture of Henry Clay is known as one of the oldest pictures taken in Kentucky. He was entitled Secretary of State by President John Quincy Adams and
After the War of 1812, he was involved into the Peace Commission and he negotiated the Treaty of Ghent with Great Britain in 1914.
He achieved important successes during his career as a Secretary of State, although many people claim that he violated the Kentucky legislature and that his victory is just a “corrupt bargain“.
18. Louisiana
Francis Lister Hawks was the first President of the University of Louisiana, today is known as Tulane University. Aside from this, he was also passionate about church and religious history. His writings are really important sources of information about the American church.
Later, he was involved in several scandals that were specifically targeting holy men. He was accused by George Washington Dixon who claimed that Hawks was involved in sexual affairs.
19. Maine
The photograph is really faded and it doesn’t seem like it takes a lot, but it is actually a portrait picture of a group of firemen of the Arundel Engine Company, with some hand-pumped fire engine.
The photo was taken in 1850, in Kennebunkport, Maine and the photographer used the Daguerreotype technique.
20. Maryland
The Battle Monument is located in Battle Monument Square on North Calvert Street between East Fayette and East Lexington Streets in Baltimore, Maryland.
It commemorates the Battle of Baltimore and it honors the soldiers who died during the War of 1812.
21. Massachusetts
Horace Mann is well-known for his attempts to develop an accessible educational system during the 19th century. During his childhood, he was raised in poverty and he was mostly self-educated.
That’s why, later in life, he became an educational reformist. He was supporting the fact that education should be free and universal, and the teachers should be well taught.
22. Michigan
This photograph from 1844 shows Thomas Fitzgerald, who was pretty involved in the American political scene. He took part in the U.S. Army during the War of 1812, where he was seriously injured.
Later, he studied law and became a member of the State House of Representatives. In 1848, Lewis Cass resigned, and Fitzgerald was appointed to fill the vacancy as a Democrat to the U.S. Senate.
23. Minnesota
This portrait photograph taken in Minnesota, back in 1862, shows a Sioux woman, that was known as Old Betsey (or old Bets) during her time. She was admired for her bravery and her compassion.
During the Dakota War, she took care of women and kept children safe after they had been taken captive.
24. Mississippi
This picture of Henry S. Foote was taken around 1844, by photographer Mathew Brady, who was really famous back then.
Henry S. Foote was highly involved in politics and he served as a Democratic Senator, and later he became the chairman of the United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations.
During the Civil War, he became a member of the Confederate House of Representatives, where he used to criticize the war policies of Confederate President Jefferson Davis.
25. Missouri
“View of the Iron Mountain” is the title of this photograph that shows Lucretia Coffin Mott. She was a feminist activist, she was a strong supporter of women’s right to vote and ending slavery.
She was one of the founders of the Philadelphia Female Anti-Slavery Society in 1833. She encouraged women to get involved in public speaking and writing. Her ideas and behavior weren’t supported by society because it was unusual to see women so involved in their professional lives.
26. Montana
This landscape photograph of the Bird Tail Rock shows the mysterious and fascinating side of Montana. It became an important landmark along the Benton Road between Fort Benton and Helena.
The road that enables travelers to go past the rock was built by Lieutenant John Mullan in 1960.
27. Nebraska
Nebraska became the 37th state of the United States in 1867. This photograph was taken at the beginning of the 1860s, and it shows a soldier, with his wife and his son.
28. Nevada
William Morris Stewart was not only a successful lawyer but an equally successful politician. He served as the 5th California Attorney General before becoming a Nevada senator.
By 1903, he was believed to be one of the richest men in the Senate due to his ownership of several silver mines. In 1964, he was inducted into the Hall of Great Westerners of the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum.
29. New Hampshire
Levi Woodbury, photographed in 1844, was a man of many talents. Serving as a Supreme Court justice, Senator, Governor, Secretary of the Treasury under President Jackson and President Martin Van Buren, and Secretary of the Navy under President Jackson.
30. New Jersey
The exact year that William L. Dayton was photographed is unknown, it was believed to be taken between 1842 and 1851.
However, in 1856, he would write his name in the history books by becoming the first Republican vice-presidential nominee when nominated alongside John C. Frémont during the 1856 presidential election.
31. New Mexico
The photograph shows Fort Marcy, in 1868. It was built when there was a dispute between the United States and the Republic of Mexico over the southern border of Texas. Fortunately, the fight didn’t involve deaths.
Fort Marcy was used during the American Civil War and Mexican–American War, but it was demolished during the 1890s.
32. New York
This photograph of the Hudson River, which flows through eastern New York, was taken by William England. Later, the picture was colorized.
33. North Carolina
Captain William F. McRorie was photographed in 1861 holding his sword. During the Civil War, the popularity of guns increased because they can be used from distance.
However, swords and knives were still used, especially in close combat.
34. North Dakota
The photograph was taken in 1868 and it illustrates Iron Bear, the head of the Arikara tribe. The picture was taken on Fort Berthold Indian Reservation, which is a U.S Indian reservation that has become a territory for the Three Tribes (Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation).
35. Ohio
William Henry Harrison, photographed here in 1840, became the last American president not born as an American citizen but his tenure would be short-lived as he would die from pneumonia just 31 days into his presidency, making him the shortest-serving U.S. president in history and the first to die in office.
36. Oklahoma
The son of a Cherokee mother and a Scottish father, John Ross was the Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation from 1828 to 1866 and would be better known as Guwisguwi, which means “Mysterious Little White Bird” in Cherokee.
He founded the original settlement of Chattanooga, Tennessee, from which the Cherokee were expelled to Oklahoma in the 1830s. This photograph was taken in 1850.
37. Oregon
Photographed here in 1855, Benjamin F. Harding had the distinction of serving as a politician in Oregon before it was a state.
38. Pennsylvania
The first photographs taken in Pennsylvania are mostly pictures of buildings. This one shows the corner of 2nd and Chestnut Streets in Philadelphia and it was taken by Frederick De Bourg Richards in 1850.
We can see several stores, like “William M. Mackin, Tailor”, “Job Printing” and “Maas Card Job Printing Office.”
39. Rhode Island
Pictured here in 1859 is James F. Simmons, a businessman and politician from Rhode Island who twice served as the United States Senator.
However, he would gain notoriety during his second term as a Senator due to the fact that the Senate considered expelling him for corruption, he would resign before they could make that decision.
40. South Carolina
While we do know that this is the oldest photograph in South Carolina, taken in 1853, who this is actually a photograph of remains a mystery to this day.
Many people believe it is the owner of the Charleston Zeitung newspaper, Franz Melchers, no one knows for sure.
41. South Dakota
This 1870 photograph shows the altar in the First Church of Our Merciful Savior, Santee, taken and published by S.J. Morrow. Sadly the church would be destroyed by fire 14 years after this image was captured.
42. Tennessee
The photograph taken by x, in y shows a group of children on the Lookout Mountain. Nowadays, the place it’s great for visiting.
There are a bunch of fun activities tourists can try and a lot of interesting landmarks, like Ruby Falls, Rock City and The Incline Railway.
43. Texas
Samuel Hamilton Walker enlisted in the Washington City Volunteers for the Creek Indian Campaign in Alabama in 1836, aged 19 and would go on to have a decorated military career as Texas Ranger captain and officer of the Republic of Texas and the United States armies.
He would see many armed conflicts and this image was taken in 1846, one year before he would be killed in action aged just 30. While it is believed he was killed by a shotgun blast, a popular legend claim he was killed by a lance.
44. Utah
Utah’s most famous place is definitely the Great Salt Lake, which is the 8th largest lake in the world and the largest in the Western Hemisphere.
The photograph illustrates this fascinating landmark. It was taken by Alfred Hart from Monument Point in 1865.
45. Vermont
This 1852 photograph is of the Arms of the State of Vermont which was drawn for the ceiling of the Hall of Representatives from an impression of the seal by J.A. Oental.
46. Virginia
This photograph shows a group of college students from Bethany College at the beginning of the 1850s, and their funny, silly hats are definitely the first thing that catches your attention.
The photograph is courtesy of the Library of Congress, and, according to its caption, they might have been part of The Ranters, a singing club, where members used to pull pranks.
47. Washington
The picture was taken back in 1858 and it illustrates the cabins of Fort Colville. It was a territory of the U.S army and initially, it was called “Harney’s Depot” and “Colville Depot”.
48. West Virginia
Photographed here in 1859, Harper’s Ferry is known as the site of John Brown’s raid and leadership of a slave revolt that triggered the Civil War.
49. Wisconsin
Photographed in 1840, this shows a portrait of the Hon. & Rev. B.R. Wilson of Monrovia, Liberia, a Methodist missionary to Liberia, photographed by S.W. Truesdell, Kenosha, Wisconsin.
50. Wyoming
Photographed by Andrew Russell in around 1870, this photograph shows men carving a trench into Bitter Creek.