Lora Webb Nichols

Thanksgiving Masquerade in Encampment, Wyoming.

Thanksgiving Masquerade in Encampment, Wyoming.

Thanksgiving Masquerade in Encampment, Wyoming

Nichols's early portrait work featuring a girl standing in front of a log cabin at Willow Glen. Taken at Willow Glen.

Carrie and Aunt Nan [Hinman] sitting in rocking chairs and relaxing in their living room. Carrie is reading a book. Saratoga, Wyoming. 

Lordier was a druggist in Encampment, Wyoming, who filled prescriptions and sold paint and stationery. At the time he was also an assayer. Encampment was a booming center of copper mining and smelting. As an assayer, Lordier would have tested ores and minerals and analyzed them to determine composition and value.

Lodging House in Encampment, Wyoming.

In 1898, J. D. Tillou became secretary and treasurer of the new Grand Encampment Mercantile Company which supplied groceries, tobaccos, tin ware, men’s clothing, and mining supplies. In 1900, he was president and general manager of the Elk Mountain Mining & Milling Company.

The Nichols's family site "Willow Glen." This photo features their log cabin with a wagon parked on the left-hand side of the frame. The Snowy Range Mountains are visible in the background.

Uncle Platt, Carrie, [Hinman] Mother, Aunt Nan, Dad [Horace Nichols] posing in front of a log cabin. Snow is visible on the roof. Taken at Willow Glen.

Nichols's mother, Sylvia Wilson Nichols, with dog "Mac," in front of a log cabin. Taken at Willow Glen.

Three babies sitting in a line on a burro/donkey as their parents hold them in place, with a log cabin in the background.

A young woman and two young men dressed in formal attire lounge in the woods enjoying a picnic. Only the one man seems to have spotted the camera, giving the photo a "caught unawares" feel. 

Lora's cousin Maggie.

Taken at Willow Glen.

A woman helps a baby (Henry Herring) pose for the camera while another woman smiles and watches from behind.

Bert Oldman and Lora in the yard at Willow Glen. The couple married at her parents’ home on October 15, 1900, a few days before Lora's 17^th birthday. 

Lora posing with her Kodak box camera. She captioned this photograph "Snap Shot Sal."

Lora's cousins Maggie, Guy, and Carrie. Little did Lora know at the time that Guy would become her second husband in 1914.

Charley Fait standing on a wagon being pulled by a freight team of four horses.

Lora's sister Lizzie on the porch at Willow Glen.

Outside view Lora and Bert Oldman's wooden cottage in Encampment not long after their wedding. Lora referred to it as the "Cosy Cottage." 

Lora Nichols (now going by her married name of Oldman), pictured on the right, is dressed up in a suit belonging to a man named Clark.

Lora's husband Bert in their home.

Lora's sister Lizzie Fait (Fait is her married last name) posing with a chair in overalls and a hat. Taken at Willow Glen. 

The Oldman's first child Albert Horace was born Nov. 21, 1902. They called him "Bertie." 

Bert Oldman with son Bertie.

Exterior shot of Fair-View Cottage, later renamed "Tucked Away."

"Pap" and "Mama" (Lora's parents Horace and Sylvia Wilson Nichols) reading in their sitting room.

Lora Webb Nichols papers, Collection No. 1005, Box 3, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming

Lora and Bert Oldman's daughter and son on front step of the cottage Lora called "Tucked Away." Sylvia was born in 1904.

Sylvia Nichols ["Mama"] posing for a portrait with a blanket or cloth serving as the backdrop.

Encampment Mercantile Company was owned by L.S. and Babe Alfred.

The Herald was published from 1898 to 1913. Years later the building would go on to house Lora's photography business and the Encampment Echo newspaper. 

Flowered wallpaper serves as the backdrop. 

Yula Wood is on the left, Carrie Hinman is on the right. Taken in Encampment, Wyoming. 

Maggie Nichols dressed in a hat and coat ["wraps on"] sits on the corner of a settee.

Lora captioned this photograph, "2 Pair Old Shoes (For Dad, Another Comic)." It's possible the photograph was a gift for Lora's father Horace Nichols, playing on the phrase of calling a person an "old shoe."

Photograph taken at Willow Glen of Lora's mother Sylvia and a friend.

The North Platte River near Encampment on a high water day. "Crib right" refers to a "crib wall," which is a retaining wall using logs to support/hold up a road. The crib wall in this photo is visible on the right hand side of the photo, but it has been broken by the river water. 

The pipeline was approximately 4 miles long and was 4 feet in diameter. It was responsible for bringing electricity to Encampment beginning in 1902. 

Horace Nichols ["Pop"] casts a line into the North Platte River. Original caption by Lora Nichols: "Pop After Landing - Hand Out."

Shown is Lora (seated) and her sister.

A stagecoach pulled by six horses parked next to a meat market. Stagecoaches were sometimes referred to as "the stage," and transported people on a "stage line" between towns before a railroad line was developed. To the right in the background is a building labeled "The Wyoming." 

Inside the post office showing the three service windows. From left to right: Jenny (in window), Hank, and Carl Ashley. Encampment, Wyoming.

Showing the bridge above and all inner workings surrounding dam on the Encampment River.

A closer view of the dam showing water underneath the bridge.

Lora captioned this photograph: "I Eat My Meals on the Mantel Piece."

The town of Battle was located at 10,000 feet making for heavy winters. It was located 14 miles from Lora's hometown of Encampment and was near the Rudefeha Mine. Copper ore from the mine was taken by wagon and later by tramway to the smelter in Riverside, which was about five miles from Encampment. 

Standard was another copper mine in the area.

Another copper mine in the area. Mining would have been done underground.

Lora's husband Bert Oldman was a copper miner.

Lora titled this photograph "Lower Away." Miners would have been lowered underground in the cart.

Photos of mining and smelting properties were some of Lora's first paid work.

The 16-mile-long aerial tramway, the longest in the world at the time, was considered an engineering marvel. It carried 840 buckets that held as much as 700 pounds of ore each from the mountains to the smelter.

Lora labeled this photograph "In the thick of it at the Brush Creek picnic."

Lora's daughter Sylvia holding an American flag.

"Mrs. K" on the lower front porch.

Businesses L to R: The L.S. Alfred Hardware Store, Davis and Ashley Real Estate, Bohn Hotel, Shorty Anderson's, and part of John Cluff's saloon.   

Lambert house (later Shorty Anderson's), Eberhart and Kyner houses. 

United Stores Company (formerly Encampment Mercantile Co.,) on corner, then Economy Drug Co., and Plummer Café have visible signs down this street. Plummer Café was the original Bohn Hotel building before the New Bohn Hotel opened.

Horse carriages known as "hacks" stand in the foreground with train cars labeled "Northern Pacific" and "Encampment RW Co." in the background at the train depot.

Lora indicated in her caption that the race was a "free for all." 

A view of the exhibits inside the Chamber of Commerce: minerals, vegetables, grains, and grasses, and taxidermy are on tables and cover the wall. 

Sylvia Nichols ["Mom"] and Lizzie Fait ["Sis"] seen in the background.

A horse drawn cart loaded with hay. Lora's caption: "Al and Mary Anderson/South Fork Ranch, now Harden's: 54 LH."

Names presumably from left to right: Frank Huston, P.A. Ralli, Charlie Terwilliger (with Len Huston behind him at the fence) and young Art Crow. 

"Tie hacking" was the act of cutting timber to create railroad ties, and the men doing the job were called "tie hacks."

Typesetting equipment was used for printing.

Lizzie Fait ["Sis"], Ira [Wolfard], Horace Nichols ["Dad"], and Lora's children Bert and Sylvia.

Unknown man and Ed Gould at the fair in Saratoga. Note the dolls on each of the men's instruments.

"Team" in this case meant a team of horses.

From left to right: Beth, Hank, Jen, Mrs. Ashley.

Bolts of cloth shown on shelves. 

Lora's son Bert shown playing on a fence.

A bucket from the Ferris-Haggarty Tramway can be seen on the right in the distance. From 1902 to 1908 the tram carried copper ore from the Sierra Madre mountains to the smelter in Riverside located near Encampment.

Lora's photographs show the changes over time to towns such as Saratoga. Bridge Street (now Bridge Avenue) is still a main thoroughfare through Saratoga.

Lora's son Bert and his friends playing with marbles.

Lora's friends blowing soap bubbles.

Lora's first cousin Guy was courting her at this time. They married in 1914.

Nida Deal's pack trip includes Sis Heaton, Ruth Dunbar, Nina Platt.

Lora took many photographs of mothers with their babies. Here is a photo of a father with his baby.

Maude and Ruth playfully sharing a bite to eat.

Alkali Ike was a well-known character (and drinker) in Encampment. According to the book Dreamers & Schemers: Profiles from Carbon County, Wyoming's Past (1999) Alkali Ike said that alcohol moved him "close to the spirit realm."

Lora's cousin Maggie shown pregnant in a casual dress.

Lora's son Bert and daughter Sylvia with her first born child, Ezra, with husband Guy Nichols. They are visiting Lora's parents at the family home, Willow Glen.

Armistice Day was first commemorated November 11, 1918, to mark the armistice signed between the Allies of World War I and Germany for ending cessation of hostilities on the Western Front during World War I. Today in the United States it is celebrated as Veterans Day.

Lora's husband Guy shown recovering from the flu at the Fait's Spring Ranch.

Shown in tent house to isolate her since she is infectious.

Lora's mother, children, and husband Guy. In addition to Lora's older children Bert and Sylvia, shown are Ezra (b. 1915), Clifford (b. 1917), Frank (b. 1919), and Dick (b. 1921).

Lora's daughter Sylvia on the University of Wyoming campus.

Through the 1920s Lora continued to supplement the family income through her photography business.

Over the years, Lora photographed families as more children were born and grew up in the Encampment area. Photos of the Holland family are an example.

The tie industry near Encampment began with the construction of the Union Pacific Railroad 50 miles north. Tie camps were situated along the various tributaries of the Encampment River. In the winter, ties were shaped and stacked. After the spring thaw, the ties were floated down the river to the North Platte. On the North Platte the ties were floated northward to Fort Steele to be loaded on trains for shipment to a tie treatment plant in Laramie.

Lora's daughter shown in a bathing suit style fashionable in the 1920s.

Lora operated her Rocky Mountain Studio mostly during the decade from 1925 through 1935, taking photographs and printing them.

One of three medical photos of Dale Null's leg sent to Shriner's Hospital in Denver, Colorado. Travel to Denver would have been a long journey, so the photograph would have assisted doctors in assessing the child's condition.

Lora was editor and publisher of the Encampment Echo newspaper from 1925 to 1930. It was housed in the same building as her photography studio.

Sylvia was a frequent photographic subject for Lora.

This service station would have assisted the new automobile traffic in town. 

A young woman shown lying down on an automobile running board during picnic trip to Battle Lake. 

In addition to her own photography, Lora collected "scenes,” as she referred to them, that were held by others. She paid for them and used them in her postcard business. The town of Dillon was located near the Rudefeha Mine by the Sierra Madre mountain range. The town was formed when alcohol was banned in the company town of Rudefeha. By 1907 both Dillon and Rudefeha were ghost towns. 

Lora worked hard to supplement her family's income. That included cooking at the A Bar A dude ranch in Wyoming's Medicine Bow Mountains. She also did photography for the ranch.

Lora and her daughter Sylvia at Walcott, Wyoming. Note Lora carrying her camera.

Lora also added to her income by photographing for the Skyline Ranch for Boys near Encampment. 

Skyline Ranch Assistant Director Edward D. "Ted" Higby digs the wagon out of the mud.

Skyline Ranch Assistant Director Ted Higby underneath sign he made for Lora's photographic studio.

An assistant behind the counter at Lora's photography business.

According to Lora's caption, she led this group which had a paper badge shaped like a brief case and had the motto "For more influence in the home, more activity out of it." Lora is shown in pants in the middle of the group.

Two couples - the Scafes and the Meekers - in bed during their pack trip.

Irene is the daughter of Lora's cousin Maggie. Mrs. Martin is Irene's grandmother.

Lora captioned this photograph of Civilian Conservation Corps men: "Crap game (Day the first C.C.C. boys arrived)." Craps was a dice game in which wagers were placed on the roll of the dice.
 

Lora took many photographs of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in Encampment. The CCC was a voluntary public works relief program that operated from 1933 to 1942 in the U.S. for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25, and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was a major part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal that provided manual labor jobs related to the conservation and development of natural resources in rural lands owned by federal, state, and local governments.

CCC members posing by their government-issued vehicle. Lora's studio is in the background.

This image is an example of a photograph from Lora's photofinishing business that was actually taken by someone else and acquired by Lora for possible use as a postcard. The photograph was taken by CCC member Evie Williams

CCC employees Dow Lunn and Charles Shewey in the boxing ring.

Treat is shown formally dressed and holding Lora's guitar for a photographic portrait taken at her Rocky Mountain Studio.

Photo of men of CCC 849 Camp taken by J. B. Treat.

One of the CCC men at work. This is another photograph Lora acquired from a customer through her photofinishing business.

Photograph taken by Harold Buckles of the CCC.

CCC employees stayed in camps such as this while on the job. Photo by J. B. Bodiford of the CCC.

Roberta Simms is shown.

Vaughn Roberts is shown.

Lora shown after her move to Stockton, California.