Seneca Ray Stoddard
Encyclopedia
Seneca Ray Stoddard was an American
landscape
photographer known for his photographs of New York
's Adirondack Mountains
. He was also a naturalist, a writer, a poet, an artist, and a cartographer. His writings and photographs helped to popularize the Adirondacks.
Stoddard was born at Wilton
, in Saratoga County, New York
, May 13, 1844. He was largely self-taught. He left home at 16 and got work painting numbers on freight cars and decorative scenes in passenger cars. He started in photography at age 20, initially in Glens Falls and later throughout the Adirondacks. He published a guide to Saratoga Springs followed by Lake George - Luzerne - Schroon Lake in 1873, and revised each of the subsequent five years. In 1878 the guide was expanded to Lake George and Lake Champlain
He was best known for his guidebook, The Adirondacks: Illustrated, published in 1873, revised and reprinted through 1914, and the first tourist map of the Adirondacks, published in 1874. In 1878, Stoddard produced a topographical survey of the Adirondacks. In early 1892, he was invited to give an illustrated lecture to the New York State Legislature that was influential in the creation of the Adirondack Park.
He traveled extensively, to Alaska in 1892, Florida and Cuba in 1894 followed by the American west and southwest. In 1895, he traveled to Bermuda, the Holy Lands, Italy, Switzerland, and France. In 1897, he went to England and the Orkney, Shetland and Faroe Islands, Iceland, Norway, Denmark, Germany and Russia. His trips became the basis for illustrated lecture tours, and photographic travel books, The Cruise of the Friesland and The Midnight Sun. In 1906, he started Stoddard's Northern Monthly, a short-lived magazine that featured articles on the Adirondacks, fiction and foreign travel.
Stoddard died at his home in Glens Falls, New York
, April 26, 1917.
The majority of Stoddard's life work in photographs is split into two large collections, one at the Chapman Historical Museum
in Glens Falls, and the other at the Adirondack Museum
in Blue Mountain Lake, New York
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
landscape
Landscape
Landscape comprises the visible features of an area of land, including the physical elements of landforms such as mountains, hills, water bodies such as rivers, lakes, ponds and the sea, living elements of land cover including indigenous vegetation, human elements including different forms of...
photographer known for his photographs of New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
's Adirondack Mountains
Adirondack Mountains
The Adirondack Mountains are a mountain range located in the northeastern part of New York, that runs through Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Fulton, Hamilton, Herkimer, Lewis, Saint Lawrence, Saratoga, Warren, and Washington counties....
. He was also a naturalist, a writer, a poet, an artist, and a cartographer. His writings and photographs helped to popularize the Adirondacks.
Stoddard was born at Wilton
Wilton, New York
Wilton is a town in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population was 12,511 at the 2000 census.The Town of Wilton is in the northeastern part of the county, northeast of Saratoga Springs, which it borders.-History:...
, in Saratoga County, New York
Saratoga County, New York
Saratoga County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2010 census, the population was 219,607. It is part of the Albany-Schenectady-Troy Metropolitan Statistical Area. The county seat is Ballston Spa...
, May 13, 1844. He was largely self-taught. He left home at 16 and got work painting numbers on freight cars and decorative scenes in passenger cars. He started in photography at age 20, initially in Glens Falls and later throughout the Adirondacks. He published a guide to Saratoga Springs followed by Lake George - Luzerne - Schroon Lake in 1873, and revised each of the subsequent five years. In 1878 the guide was expanded to Lake George and Lake Champlain
He was best known for his guidebook, The Adirondacks: Illustrated, published in 1873, revised and reprinted through 1914, and the first tourist map of the Adirondacks, published in 1874. In 1878, Stoddard produced a topographical survey of the Adirondacks. In early 1892, he was invited to give an illustrated lecture to the New York State Legislature that was influential in the creation of the Adirondack Park.
He traveled extensively, to Alaska in 1892, Florida and Cuba in 1894 followed by the American west and southwest. In 1895, he traveled to Bermuda, the Holy Lands, Italy, Switzerland, and France. In 1897, he went to England and the Orkney, Shetland and Faroe Islands, Iceland, Norway, Denmark, Germany and Russia. His trips became the basis for illustrated lecture tours, and photographic travel books, The Cruise of the Friesland and The Midnight Sun. In 1906, he started Stoddard's Northern Monthly, a short-lived magazine that featured articles on the Adirondacks, fiction and foreign travel.
Stoddard died at his home in Glens Falls, New York
Glens Falls, New York
Glens Falls is a city in Warren County, New York, United States. Glens Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 14,700 at the 2010 census...
, April 26, 1917.
The majority of Stoddard's life work in photographs is split into two large collections, one at the Chapman Historical Museum
Chapman Historical Museum
The Chapman Historical Museum is a restored house museum featuring furnishings and historical artifacts depicting life in Glens Falls, New York, USA during the late 19th century. The museum is owned and operated by the Glens Falls/Queensbury Historical Association...
in Glens Falls, and the other at the Adirondack Museum
Adirondack Museum
The Adirondack Museum, located on NY-30 in the hamlet of Blue Mountain Lake in Hamilton County, New York, is a museum dedicated to preserving the history of the Adirondacks...
in Blue Mountain Lake, New York
Blue Mountain Lake, New York
Blue Mountain Lake is a rural hamlet in the Town of Indian Lake of Hamilton County, New York located at the intersection of New York Routes 28 and 30 with a population of 146 according to the 2000 United States Census. Blue Mountain Lake also refers to the lake on the banks of which the village is...
.
Sources
- De Sormo, Maitland C., Summers on the Saranacs. Utica: North Country Books, 1980. ISBN 0-932052-87-8.
- Donaldson, Alfred L., A History of the Adirondacks. New York: Century, 1921. ISBN 0-916346-26-8. (reprint)