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)
- Williamsville (Vt.) [41]
- Newfane (Vt.) [17]
- Wardsboro (Vt. : Town) [8]
- Dover (Vt. : Town) [6]
- Jamaica (Vt.) [5]
- Marlboro (Vt.) [5]
- Dummerston (Vt.) [3]
- Townshend (Vt.) [3]
- Brookline (Vt.) [2]
- Halifax (Vt. : Town) [2]
Format(s)
- image [100]
Genre(s)
- black-and-white photographs [100]
- group portraits [100]
- photographs [100]
Topic(s)
- Children [65]
- Elementary school buildings [46]
- Portrait photography [35]
- Teachers [12]
- Family [11]
- Business [5]
- Employees [5]
- South Branch School (Marlboro, Vt.) [5]
- Photography of interiors [4]
- Snow [4]
- Camps [3]
- Indians of North America Clothing [3]
- Sawmills [3]
- Thayer family [3]
- Theaters [3]
- Blackface entertainers [2]
- Horses [2]
- Round Schoolhouse (Brookline, Vt.) [2]
- Webster family [2]
- Automobiles [1]
- Bicycles [1]
- Boy Scouts [1]
- Camping [1]
- Farmhouses [1]
- Holidays [1]
- Hunting [1]
- Logging [1]
- Railroad tracks [1]
- Stores, Retail [1]
- Thayer, Porter C. (Porter Charlie)1882-1972 [1]
- Veterans [1]
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Genre: ("group portraits")
Title: Fred Holland's family on their porch in East Dover
Creator: Thayer, Porter C. (Porter Charlie), 1882-1972
Date: 1913
Resource type: group portraits
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: black-and-white photographs
Title: Group portrait at a family picnic in front of a house in Vermont
Creator: Thayer, Porter C. (Porter Charlie), 1882-1972
Date: 1909
Resource type: group portraits
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: black-and-white photographs
Title: Group portrait of loggers in Wardsboro, Vt.
Creator: Thayer, Porter C. (Porter Charlie), 1882-1972
Date: 19--
Resource type: group portraits
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: black-and-white photographs
Title: Group portrait, Williamsville, Vt.
Creator: Thayer, Porter C. (Porter Charlie), 1882-1972
Date: 19-
Resource type: group portraits
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: black-and-white photographs
Title: Jamaica, Vermont Baseball Team
Creator: Thayer, Porter C. (Porter Charlie), 1882-1972
Date: 19--
Resource type: group portraits
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: black-and-white photographs
Title: Ladies Temperance, Newfane, Vt.
Creator: Thayer, Porter C. (Porter Charlie), 1882-1972
Date: 1910
Resource type: group portraits
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: black-and-white photographs
Title: Leland Gray Seminary Baseball Team, Townshend, Vt.
Creator: Thayer, Porter C. (Porter Charlie), 1882-1972
Date: 19--
Resource type: group portraits
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: black-and-white photographs
Title: Mill Workers at sawmill, Williamsville, Vt.
Creator: Thayer, Porter C. (Porter Charlie), 1882-1972
Date: 19--
Resource type: group portraits
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: black-and-white photographs
Could be Merrifield Mill.
Title: Minister's Family on Porch, Jamaica, Vt.
Creator: Thayer, Porter C. (Porter Charlie), 1882-1972
Date: 1911
Resource type: group portraits
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: black-and-white photographs
See images bmlthayer T220, T237, T261, T266, T284 also.
Title: Miss Clark and her Sunday School Class Inside Building in Jamaica, Vt.
Creator: Thayer, Porter C. (Porter Charlie), 1882-1972
Date: 1912
Resource type: group portraits
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: black-and-white photographs
See image bmlthayerT293 also.
Title: Miss Clark and her Sunday School Class in Jamaica, Vt.
Creator: Thayer, Porter C. (Porter Charlie), 1882-1972
Date: 1912
Resource type: group portraits
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: black-and-white photographs
See image bmlthayerT294 also.
Title: Miss Luelle Williams' South Newfane School Class
Creator: Thayer, Porter C. (Porter Charlie), 1882-1972
Date: 1909
Resource type: group portraits
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: black-and-white photographs
Title: Miss Sadie Morse's Brookside School Class
Creator: Thayer, Porter C. (Porter Charlie), 1882-1972
Date: 192-
Resource type: group portraits
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: black-and-white photographs
Title: Mount Herman Glee Club, Williamsville RR depot, Vt.
Creator: Thayer, Porter C. (Porter Charlie), 1882-1972
Date: 19--
Resource type: group portraits
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: black-and-white photographs
Title: Mr and Mrs Ballou with two kids and a dog, Brookside, Vt.
Creator: Thayer, Porter C. (Porter Charlie), 1882-1972
Date: 19--
Resource type: group portraits
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: black-and-white photographs
Title: Mr. Brown's Class from South Branch School, Marlboro, Vt.
Creator: Thayer, Porter C. (Porter Charlie), 1882-1972
Date: 1912
Resource type: group portraits
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: black-and-white photographs
Title: Mr. Brown's Class from South Branch School, Marlboro, Vt.
Creator: Thayer, Porter C. (Porter Charlie), 1882-1972
Date: 1912
Resource type: group portraits
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: black-and-white photographs
![Thumbnail: Mr. Putnam's class picture, Williamsville, Vt.]](http://cdi.uvm.edu/archives/thayer/bmlthayerT842-thumb.jpg)
Title: Mr. Putnam's class picture, Williamsville, Vt.]
Creator: Thayer, Porter C. (Porter Charlie), 1882-1972
Date: 19--
Resource type: group portraits
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: black-and-white photographs
Creator: Thayer, Porter C. (Porter Charlie), 1882-1972
Date: 19--
Resource type: group portraits
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: black-and-white photographs
Four generations of a family. Marion Fairbanks is baby.
Title: Mt. Herman Glee Club at RR Station
Creator: Thayer, Porter C. (Porter Charlie), 1882-1972
Date: 1914
Resource type: group portraits
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: black-and-white photographs
Williamsville railroad station.
Title: Nellie Dickinson Eames with West Dover, Vt district #8 class
Creator: Thayer, Porter C. (Porter Charlie), 1882-1972
Date: 19--
Resource type: group portraits
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: black-and-white photographs
Title: Newfane Cornet Band, Newfane, Vt.
Creator: Thayer, Porter C. (Porter Charlie), 1882-1972
Date: 1913
Resource type: group portraits
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: black-and-white photographs
Title: Newfane School Class Portrait, Newfane, Vt.
Creator: Thayer, Porter C. (Porter Charlie), 1882-1972
Date: 19--
Resource type: group portraits
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: black-and-white photographs
Title: Newfane Veterans on Memorial Day, Newfane, Vt.
Creator: Thayer, Porter C. (Porter Charlie), 1882-1972
Date: 1916
Resource type: group portraits
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: black-and-white photographs
Title: Parish School class portrait, Williamsville, Vt.
Creator: Thayer, Porter C. (Porter Charlie), 1882-1972
Date: 1909
Resource type: group portraits
Resource type: photographs
Resource type: black-and-white photographs
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