The AHC has completed a project to digitize over 900 negatives from Rawlins-area photographer Frank Meyers.

Moonshine equipment in days of prohibition by Rawlins courthouse

Frank J. Meyers (1890-1973) purchased the Rawlins photography business of Hugh J. Rogner in 1923. Meyers ran the business for 50 years until his death. In 1945 he opened a summer studio in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, where he developed scenic photographs into large photograph murals. He was a Grand Master of the Wyoming Masons and president of the Rocky Mountain Professional Photographers Association.

Images in the collection primarily depict Wyoming in the 1920s to 1960s, especially Rawlins, Parco, the Snowy Range, and Jackson Hole. In addition to photographs taken by Meyers, the collection includes negatives of historical photographs copied by Meyers, including images of Fort Fred Steele, Buffalo Bill, and Sherman Station.

Parco baseball team

Notable images from the collection include photographs taken in the aftermath of the infamous Kemmerer mine disaster. Meyers also documented the early years of the State Penitentiary in Rawlins, including their gas chamber. The collection also includes three undated (and very worn) film reels depicting life in and around Rawlins.

The digital collection can be accessed through the collection inventory at: http://rmoa.unm.edu/docviewer.php?docId=wyu-ah05195.xml.

The digitization of this collection was partially funded by the Wyoming Cultural Trust Fund, which in 2010 awarded the AHC a $10,000 to digitize over 7,000 images from six of its premier photographic collections.

–Ben Goldman, Digital Programs Manager