Porter C. Thayer Photographs

This archive contains 1300 photographs made by Porter C. Thayer,scanned from silver gelatin prints, held in the collection of the Brooks Memorial Library. The prints were made in 1980 from the 5x7 glass plates negatives created by Porter Thayer. These images are also available on microfilm at the Brattleboro library. Porter Thayer was born Porter Charlie Thayer on January 6, 1882 on Main Street in Williamsville, Vermont. He grew up in the red house called the Tillotson Place in the Parish section of Newfane, Vermont. He photographed Windham County, Vermont, beginning in 1906 through around 1920. Like most Vermont men of his generation he was a farmer, specifically an apple orchardist, managing his 50 acre apple orchard on Baker Brook Farm in Newfane. He turned to his apple business after ending his photographic career. The postcard craze that most likely reached Vermont by about 1905, was perhaps the impetus for Porter Thayer starting up a photographic business. His diaries tell that he sold 1,197 postal cards during a six-month period at the height of his career. The cards were for sale as souvenirs to summer tourists at small general stores, local inns, boarding houses and hotels. Local folks purchased his photographs as well, especially around the Christmas season, to send to distant relatives. A Brattleboro, Vermont directory of 1909 lists Porter as advertising that he would come to anyone’s home and make images for a reasonable fee. Around 1911 he recorded that he had 720 customers. Eventually he photographed in all the towns within a 25 mile radius of his home in Newfane. Porter Thayer perfectly fits the archetype of the town photographer. He traveled the narrow dirt roads in his buggy, behind his faithful mare Lady, who accompanied him daily. He could apparently take extended naps while Lady brought him safely home, as she always knew the way. He used two cameras: a 5 x 7 and a 6.5 x 8.5 view camera and made glass dry-plate negatives. He traveled with stacks of postcards to be delivered at stores along the way to his days work. Working continually through seasons and years, Porter Thayer left an archive that is a cultural treasure for southeastern Vermont. The quality of his work shows that he was able to combine business needs with aesthetic ones. During the time period Porter worked, Vermont was extremely poor and rural, yet held a close-knit population that shared the labors of life. Farmers helped one another to survive in a subsistence and barter economy. For women, men, and children, life meant constant work. Thayer’s images describe the work and the tools involved. His landscape images reveal this working landscape, which today is mostly hidden by trees. The fruits of his labor as a photographer have grown in importance, as both the landscape and culture of Vermont has shifted into modern spheres of living. Written by Jessica Weitz and Forrest Holzapfel, 2010.

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318 Dwellings 277 Roads 246 Williamsville (Vt.) 204 Business 193 Newfane (Vt.) 153 Children 148 Landscape photography 133 Horses 117 Central business districts 110 Transportation 105 Portrait photography 103 Rivers 99 Jamaica (Vt.) 88 Wardsboro (Vt. : Town) 87 Church buildings 85 Bridges 77 Brattleboro (Vt.) 74 Snow 70 Farmhouses 67 Elementary school buildings 67 Holidays 66 Animals 66 Barns 66 Townshend (Vt.) 60 Dover (Vt. : Town) 55 Taverns (Inns) 54 Parades 54 Wilmington (Vt.) 51 Photography of interiors 48 Retail 48 Stores 47 Fences 45 Sawmills 44 Agriculture 44 Dummerston (Vt.) 42 Stone walls 40 Marlboro (Vt.) 38 Railroad tracks 34 Dams 31 Londonderry (Vt.) 31 Oxen 28 Automobiles 28 Neighborhoods 27 Covered bridges 26 Putney (Vt.) 25 Halifax (Vt. : Town) 23 Employees 23 Maple syrup 22 Construction projects 22 Family 20 Searsburg (Vt.) 19 Railroad trains 19 West River Valley (Vt.) 18 Logging 17 Vacation homes 16 Cemeteries 16 Draft animals 16 Jacksonville (Vt.) 16 Teachers 15 Ames Hill Road (Brattleboro, Vt.) 14 Natural disasters 14 Postal service 14 Western Avenue (Brattleboro, Vt.) 12 Westminster (Vt.) 11 Brookline (Vt.) 10 Apples 10 Baker Brook Road (Vt.) 10 Birds-eye view 10 Fairs 10 Hunting 10 Merrifield Mill (Williamsville, Vt.) 10 Mines and mineral resources 10 Valley Fair (Brattleboro, Vt.) 9 Bands (Music) 9 Guilford (Vt.) 9 Machinery 8 Architecture 8 Brattleboro Retreat 8 Courthouses 8 Crops 8 Farms 8 Forests and forestry 8 Ponds 8 Putney (Vt.)[|}Thayer family 7 Casson, Ben 7 Statues 7 Theaters 6 Baseball 6 Blacksmithing 6 Camping 6 Connecticut River 6 Dairying 6 Dexter, E. M 6 Higley Hill Road (Vt.) 6 South Branch School (Marlboro, Vt.) 6 Stagecoaches 6 Vernon (Vt.) 5 Advertising 5 Victorian 4 Boats and boating 4 Clothing 4 Cows 4 Dover (Vt. : Town)[|}Thayer family 4 H.A. Williams Store (Williamsville, Vt.) 4 Indians of North America 4 J.A. Muzzy & Co. Store (Jamaica, Vt.) 4 Libraries 4 Mountain Mills (Wilimington, Vt.) 4 Onlya Farm (Brattleboro, Vt.) 4 Police 4 Quarries and quarrying 4 Round Schoolhouse (Brookline, Vt.) 4 South Pond (Vt.) 4 Spinning machinery 3 Bank buildings 3 Brattleboro (Vt.)[|}Betterly family 3 Brattleboro (Vt.)[|}Thayer family 3 Camps 3 Hale, Lucy 3 Lakes 3 Morse, J. E 3 Prisons 3 Street-railroads 3 Thayer, Porter C. (Porter Charlie),1882-1972 3 Williamsville (Vt.)[|}Thayer family 3 [|}Thayer family 2 Bicycles 2 Bingham's Mill (Newfane, Vt.) 2 Blackface entertainers 2 Boy Scouts 2 Colonial 2 Connecticut River[|}Thayer family 2 F.B. Stone's Sawill (Halifax, Vt.) 2 Flood damage 2 Green Mountains (Vt.) 2 Green Mt. Inn (W. Dover, Vt.) 2 Haying equipment 2 J.A. Davis' Store (West Dover, Vt.) 2 Jamaica Lumber Company (Jamaica, Vt.) 2 L.T. Landman General Merchandise Store (South Londonderry, Vt.) 2 Searsburg (Vt.)[|}Thayer family 2 Sheep 2 Soldiers 2 Stratton (Vt.) 2 Swine 2 Taft, William H. (William Howard),1857-1930 2 W.J. Metcalf Feed & Stable (Dover, Vt.) 2 Wardsboro (Vt. : Town)[|}Webster family 2 Weavers 2 Webster family 1 C.S. Wilkins General Store and Inn (East Dummerston, Vt.) 1 Cattle 1 Dover (Vt. : Town)[|}Stratton family 1 Gothic 1 Halifax (Vt. : Town)[|}Stratton family 1 Howe's Mill Dam (East Dover, Vt.) 1 Interior architecture 1 Jamaica (Vt.)[|}Stratton family 1 Moody's Store (E. Dover, Vt.) 1 Newfane (Vt.)[|}Thayer family 1 Newfane (Vt.)[|}Webster family 1 Peaked Mountain (Vt.) 1 Pierce, Delbert 1 Prouty's Mill (East Dover, Vt.) 1 Stoves 1 Textile workers 1 Trolley buses 1 Veterans 1 Wardsboro (Vt. : Town)[|}Betterly family 1 Wardsboro (Vt. : Town)[|}Thayer family 1 West River Valley (Vt.)[|}Thayer family 1 Whitaker's Store (Newfane, Vt.) 1 Williamsville (Vt.)[|}Betterly family 1 Wood 1 [|}Webster family 1 subject_geographic

230 Williamsville (Vt.) 195 Newfane (Vt.) 92 Jamaica (Vt.) 92 Wardsboro (Vt. : Town) 65 Dover (Vt. : Town) 61 Townshend (Vt.) 49 Brattleboro (Vt.) 46 Wilmington (Vt.) 40 Dummerston (Vt.) 33 Marlboro (Vt.) 32 Putney (Vt.) 30 Londonderry (Vt.) 26 Halifax (Vt. : Town) 22 Searsburg (Vt.) 16 Ames Hill Road (Brattleboro, Vt.),Brattleboro (Vt.) 16 Jacksonville (Vt.) 11 Westminster (Vt.) 10 Brookline (Vt.) 10 Western Avenue (Brattleboro, Vt.),Brattleboro (Vt.) 9 Guilford (Vt.) 9 Merrifield Mill (Williamsville, Vt.),Williamsville (Vt.) 8 Williamsville (Vt.),Baker Brook Road (Vt.) 6 Jamaica (Vt.),West River Valley (Vt.) 6 Vernon (Vt.) 4 Brattleboro (Vt.),Connecticut River 4 Dummerston (Vt.),West River Valley (Vt.) 4 Marlboro (Vt.),South Pond (Vt.) 4 Mountain Mills (Wilimington, Vt.),Wilmington (Vt.) 3 Brattleboro (Vt.),Western Avenue (Brattleboro, Vt.) 3 Higley Hill Road (Vt.),Wilmington (Vt.) 3 Marlboro (Vt.),Higley Hill Road (Vt.) 2 Brattleboro (Vt.),West River Valley (Vt.) 2 Connecticut River,Putney (Vt.) 2 Green Mountains (Vt.),Townshend (Vt.) 2 Stratton (Vt.) 2 West River Valley (Vt.) 1 Baker Brook Road (Vt.) 1 Brookline (Vt.),West River Valley (Vt.) 1 Connecticut River 1 Connecticut River,Westminster (Vt.) 1 Londonderry (Vt.),West River Valley (Vt.) 1 Newfane (Vt.),West River Valley (Vt.) 1 Peaked Mountain (Vt.),Townshend (Vt.) 1 Townshend (Vt.),West River Valley (Vt.) 1 West River Valley (Vt.),Jamaica (Vt.) 1 West River Valley (Vt.),Townshend (Vt.) 1 Western Avenue (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1 Williamsville (Vt.),Merrifield Mill (Williamsville, Vt.) 1 Williamsville (Vt.),Williamsville (Vt.),Baker Brook Road (Vt.) 1 Wilmington (Vt.),Williamsville (Vt.)

1259 still image
Miniature of Bull Run, Ames Hill, Vt.
Bull Run, Ames Hill, Vt.
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    • Date Created: 1912
    • Description: A quirky cabin on Ames Hill Road in Western Brattleboro with stripped logs as porch supports.
    • Parent Collections: Porter C. Thayer Photographs
    Miniature of Near Congressional Church, Western Avenue, Brattleboro, Vermont
    Near Congressional Church, Western Avenue, Brattleboro, Vermont
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      • Date Created: 1910
      • Parent Collections: Porter C. Thayer Photographs
      Miniature of Western Ave., Brattleboro, Vt.
      Western Ave., Brattleboro, Vt.
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        • Description: View of neighborhood on Western Avenue. Same point of view as image bmlthayer T62.
        • Parent Collections: Porter C. Thayer Photographs
        Miniature of Parade, Memorial Day,.09.Brattleboro, Vt.
        Parade, Memorial Day,.09.Brattleboro, Vt.
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          • Date Created: 1909
          • Description: Police marching in a parade surrounded by onlookers. Unitarian Church and Holbrook House visible. See bmlthayer T72 also.
          • Parent Collections: Porter C. Thayer Photographs
          Miniature of Railroad train along Connecticut River in Brattleboro, Vt.
          Railroad train along Connecticut River in Brattleboro, Vt.
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            • Date Created: 1909
            • Description: Central Vermont Railroad train running on tracks that cut through the Hunt Meadow. Telephone poles are emerging from the water (possible flood?)
            • Parent Collections: Porter C. Thayer Photographs
            Miniature of Western Avenue, West Brattleboro, Vt.
            Western Avenue, West Brattleboro, Vt.
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              • Date Created: 19--
              • Description: Street view with horse and cart in distance and trolley tracks visible.
              • Parent Collections: Porter C. Thayer Photographs
              Miniature of Haystack Mt. from Cross Road, West Dover, Vt.
              Haystack Mt. from Cross Road, West Dover, Vt.
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                • Date Created: 1909
                • Parent Collections: Porter C. Thayer Photographs
                Miniature of Green Mt. Inn, W. Dover, Vt.
                Green Mt. Inn, W. Dover, Vt.
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                  • Date Created: 1911
                  • Parent Collections: Porter C. Thayer Photographs
                  Miniature of Possible Schoolhouse in East Dummerston
                  Possible Schoolhouse in East Dummerston
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                    • Date Created: 1912
                    • Parent Collections: Porter C. Thayer Photographs
                    Miniature of Farmhouse with large locust trees on Route 5 in East Dummerston
                    Farmhouse with large locust trees on Route 5 in East Dummerston
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                      • Date Created: 1912
                      • Parent Collections: Porter C. Thayer Photographs