Alexander Gardner

One of the earliest photographic records of the state is a series of stereographs depicting the route of the Union Pacific Railroad. The photographer was Alexander Gardner of Washington, D. C.

Before traveling across Kansas, Gardner followed the Army of the Potomac during the Civil War and had done several photographic portraits of Abraham Lincoln. The series of approximately 150 views was entitled "Across the Continent on the Kansas Pacific Railroad-1867." The photos include street scenes, buildings, geography, local geological attractions, and even a picture of Gardner's photographic crew. The series includes views of Ellsworth and Hays when they were less than a year old. There are also numerous views of older cities such as Topeka, Lawrence, and Wyandotte, now a part of Kansas City, Kansas. Gardner was impressed by the broad plains as is evident from titles such as "View embracing twelve miles of prairie" or "The extreme distance is five miles off." The negatives used at the time were glass plates coated with a wet chemical solution that had to be processed within an hour. Photographers had to have a darkroom close at hand.