Porter C. Thayer Photographs
Collection Overview
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.
Time Period Covered: 1906 - 1920
Published: October 11, 2010,
Rights: The William Thayer Family and heirs hold copyright to the Porter Thayer Photographs collection. Material in the collection may not be used without permission. For permission requests, contact Bill Thayer at billthayer08@gmail.com
Browse Options
Creator(s)
Place(s)
- Newfane (Vt.) [149]
- Jamaica (Vt.) [83]
- Brattleboro (Vt.) [77]
- Wardsboro (Vt. : Town) [72]
- Williamsville (Vt.) [60]
- Townshend (Vt.) [53]
- Dover (Vt. : Town) [50]
- Dummerston (Vt.) [37]
- Marlboro (Vt.) [35]
- Putney (Vt.) [30]
- Halifax (Vt. : Town) [26]
- Londonderry (Vt.) [23]
- West River Valley (Vt.) [19]
- Ames Hill Road (Brattleboro, Vt.) [15]
- Western Avenue (Brattleboro, Vt.) [13]
- Jacksonville (Vt.) [9]
- Brookline (Vt.) [8]
- Guilford (Vt.) [7]
- Searsburg (Vt.) [6]
- Vernon (Vt.) [6]
- Connecticut River [5]
- Higley Hill Road (Vt.) [3]
- Green Mountains (Vt.) [2]
- South Pond (Vt.) [2]
- Westminster (Vt.) [2]
- Peaked Mountain (Vt.) [1]
Format(s)
- image [742]
Genre(s)
- black-and-white photographs [742]
- photographs [742]
- landscape photographs [66]
- group portraits [43]
Topic(s)
- Dwellings [228]
- Roads [197]
- Business [142]
- Landscape photography [125]
- Central business districts [89]
- Taverns (Inns) [51]
- Barns [50]
- Rivers [49]
- Transportation [44]
- Elementary school buildings [42]
- Animals [40]
- Fences [40]
- Holidays [37]
- Stone walls [36]
- Stores, Retail [34]
- Photography of interiors [33]
- Snow [30]
- Neighborhoods [28]
- Parades [25]
- Agriculture [24]
- Sawmills [22]
- Automobiles [17]
- Oxen [17]
- Vacation homes [17]
- Draft animals [16]
- Cemeteries [15]
- Teachers [14]
- Logging [12]
- Natural disasters [12]
- Dams [11]
- Postal service [11]
- Apples [10]
- Fairs [10]
- Valley Fair (Brattleboro, Vt.) [10]
- Bridges [8]
- Courthouses [8]
- Forests and forestry [8]
- Casson, Ben [7]
- Family [7]
- Farms [7]
- Statues [7]
- Blacksmithing [6]
- Dexter, E. M [6]
- South Branch School (Marlboro, Vt.) [6]
- Architecture, Victorian [5]
- Betterly family [5]
- Brattleboro Retreat [5]
- Employees [5]
- Ponds [5]
- Advertising [4]
- Bands (Music) [4]
- Crops [4]
- J.A. Muzzy & Co. Store (Jamaica, Vt.) [4]
- Round Schoolhouse (Brookline, Vt.) [4]
- Bank buildings [3]
- Cows [3]
- Hunting [3]
- Libraries [3]
- Morse, J. E [3]
- Onlya Farm (Brattleboro, Vt.) [3]
- Police [3]
- Prisons [3]
- Railroad tracks [3]
- Stratton family [3]
- Street-railroads [3]
- Thayer family [3]
- Theaters [3]
- Architecture, Colonial [2]
- Bingham's Mill (Newfane, Vt.) [2]
- Boats and boating [2]
- Camping [2]
- F.B. Stone's Sawill (Halifax, 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]
- Lakes [2]
- Maple syrup [2]
- Quarries and quarrying [2]
- Spinning machinery [2]
- Stagecoaches [2]
- Stoves, Wood [2]
- Taft, William H. (William Howard)1857-1930 [2]
- W.J. Metcalf Feed & Stable (Dover, Vt.) [2]
- Weavers [2]
- Architecture, Gothic [1]
- Bicycles [1]
- Blackface entertainers [1]
- Boy Scouts [1]
- C.S. Wilkins General Store and Inn (East Dummerston, Vt.) [1]
- Covered bridges [1]
- Dairying [1]
- Howe's Mill Dam (East Dover, Vt.) [1]
- Machinery [1]
- Moody's Store (E. Dover, Vt.) [1]
- Prouty's Mill (East Dover, Vt.) [1]
- Railroad trains [1]
- Sheep [1]
- Soldiers [1]
- Swine [1]
- Trolley buses [1]
- Veterans [1]
- Webster family [1]
- Whitaker's Store (Newfane, Vt.) [1]
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Title: "After the Hunt" View Taken in Newfane, Vt.
Creator: Thayer, Porter C. (Porter Charlie), 1882-1972
Date: 1909
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: black-and-white photographs
Title: "Fairview" Dover, Vt.
Creator: Thayer, Porter C. (Porter Charlie), 1882-1972
Date: 1909
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: black-and-white photographs
Robcheck's (?) house (1978) with view of church on common in the background.
Title: 'Christian Endeavor' in 4th of July Parade in front of Newfane Inn, Newfane, Vt.
Creator: Thayer, Porter C. (Porter Charlie), 1882-1972
Date: 1913
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: black-and-white photographs
Title: 4th of July Parade in front of Newfane Inn, Newfane, Vt.
Creator: Thayer, Porter C. (Porter Charlie), 1882-1972
Date: 1913
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: black-and-white photographs
Title: 4th of July Parade in front of Newfane Inn, Newfane, Vt.
Creator: Thayer, Porter C. (Porter Charlie), 1882-1972
Date: 1913
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: black-and-white photographs
Title: 4th of July Parade in front of Newfane Inn, Newfane, Vt.
Creator: Thayer, Porter C. (Porter Charlie), 1882-1972
Date: 1913
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: black-and-white photographs
Title: 4th of July Parade in front of Newfane Inn, Newfane, Vt.
Creator: Thayer, Porter C. (Porter Charlie), 1882-1972
Date: 1913
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: black-and-white photographs
Title: 4th of July Parade in front of Newfane Inn, Newfane, Vt.
Creator: Thayer, Porter C. (Porter Charlie), 1882-1972
Date: 1913
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: black-and-white photographs
Title: 4th of July Parade in front of Newfane Inn, Newfane, Vt.
Creator: Thayer, Porter C. (Porter Charlie), 1882-1972
Date: 1913
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: black-and-white photographs
Title: 4th of July Parade in front of Newfane Inn, Newfane, Vt.
Creator: Thayer, Porter C. (Porter Charlie), 1882-1972
Date: 1913
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: black-and-white photographs
Title: 4th of July Parade in front of Newfane Inn, Newfane, Vt.
Creator: Thayer, Porter C. (Porter Charlie), 1882-1972
Date: 1913
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: black-and-white photographs
Sleigh being pulled by horses.
Title: 4th of July Parade in front of Newfane Inn, Newfane, Vt.
Creator: Thayer, Porter C. (Porter Charlie), 1882-1972
Date: 1913
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: black-and-white photographs
Title: 4th of July Parade in front of Newfane Inn, Newfane, Vt.
Creator: Thayer, Porter C. (Porter Charlie), 1882-1972
Date: 1913
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: black-and-white photographs
Title: A Country Drive, West Dover, Vt.
Creator: Thayer, Porter C. (Porter Charlie), 1882-1972
Date: 1912
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: black-and-white photographs
Dirtroad by streambed in wooded area of Dover.
Title: A Large Tree in South Newfane, Vt.
Creator: Thayer, Porter C. (Porter Charlie), 1882-1972
Date: 19--
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: black-and-white photographs
Title: A pigeon coop, Williamsville, Vt.
Creator: Thayer, Porter C. (Porter Charlie), 1882-1972
Date: 19--
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: black-and-white photographs
Title: A.N. Sherman's Store, Williamsville, Vt.
Creator: Thayer, Porter C. (Porter Charlie), 1882-1972
Date: 19--
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: black-and-white photographs
Title: Albee & Fitch Store, Townshend, Vt.
Creator: Thayer, Porter C. (Porter Charlie), 1882-1972
Date: 19--
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: black-and-white photographs
Title: Ames Hill Road, Brattleboro, Vt.
Creator: Thayer, Porter C. (Porter Charlie), 1882-1972
Date: 1911
Resource type: landscape photographs
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: black-and-white photographs
Birch-lined section of Ames Hill Road in Brattleboro, with farm fencing visible.
Title: Arrival at Cemetery, Memorial Day,.09.
Creator: Thayer, Porter C. (Porter Charlie), 1882-1972
Date: 1909
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: black-and-white photographs
Police leading parade at Prospect Hill cemetery on Memorial Day.
Title: Arrival of Pres. Taft, at Townshend, Vt.
Creator: Thayer, Porter C. (Porter Charlie), 1882-1972
Date: 1912
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: black-and-white photographs
Title: Asher's Mill with workers out front, Williamsville, Vt.
Creator: Thayer, Porter C. (Porter Charlie), 1882-1972
Date: 1911
Resource type: group portraits
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: black-and-white photographs
Title: Asylum Meadow, two women having a picnic on a hillside with a dog
Creator: Thayer, Porter C. (Porter Charlie), 1882-1972
Date: 1909
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: black-and-white photographs
Title: Auger Hole, Marlboro, Vt.
Creator: Thayer, Porter C. (Porter Charlie), 1882-1972
Date: 19--
Resource type: landscape photographs
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: black-and-white photographs
Title: Auto Parade, Valley Fair
Creator: Thayer, Porter C. (Porter Charlie), 1882-1972
Date: 1910
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: black-and-white photographs
See images bmlthayer T64 & bmlthayer T68 as well.
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