William A. Barnhill
Encyclopedia
William A. Barnhill was an American photographer best known for his work in the Appalachian Mountains
of western North Carolina
in the early 1900s. His love of hiking and photography
took him to the mountains of western North Carolina between 1914 and 1917. The photographs he took during those trips have been featured in American Heritage
and Life magazines, as well as in the collections of the Library of Congress
, the New York Public Library
, the Pack
Memorial Public Library of Asheville, North Carolina
, and various college libraries.
During World War I
, as a Lieutenant
in the US Army he commanded a photographic section in the 91st Aero Squadron.
Some of his photographs from the war were used in the New York Times during the war.
He worked as a commercial photographer in Asheville and Cleveland
after the war.
Appalachian Mountains
The Appalachian Mountains #Whether the stressed vowel is or ,#Whether the "ch" is pronounced as a fricative or an affricate , and#Whether the final vowel is the monophthong or the diphthong .), often called the Appalachians, are a system of mountains in eastern North America. The Appalachians...
of western North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
in the early 1900s. His love of hiking and photography
Photography
Photography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...
took him to the mountains of western North Carolina between 1914 and 1917. The photographs he took during those trips have been featured in American Heritage
American Heritage (magazine)
American Heritage is a quarterly magazine dedicated to covering the history of the United States for a mainstream readership. Until 2007, the magazine was published by Forbes. Since that time, Edwin S...
and Life magazines, as well as in the collections of the Library of Congress
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
, the New York Public Library
New York Public Library
The New York Public Library is the largest public library in North America and is one of the United States' most significant research libraries...
, the Pack
George Willis Pack
George Willis Pack was a second-generation timberman in Michigan's Lower Peninsula. His father, George Pack had established two sawmills outside of Lexington, Michigan, in a place known as Pack's Mills. After years of working with his father, in 1860 George Willis Pack, together with John L...
Memorial Public Library of Asheville, North Carolina
Asheville, North Carolina
Asheville is a city in and the county seat of Buncombe County, North Carolina, United States. It is the largest city in Western North Carolina, and the 11th largest city in North Carolina. The City is home to the United States National Climatic Data Center , which is the world's largest active...
, and various college libraries.
During World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, as a Lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
in the US Army he commanded a photographic section in the 91st Aero Squadron.
Some of his photographs from the war were used in the New York Times during the war.
He worked as a commercial photographer in Asheville and Cleveland
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
after the war.
External links
- Library of Congress Barnhill photographs of pioneer life in western North Carolina, 1914-1917
- New York Public Library - Romana Javitz Collection MFZ (Barnhill) 93-6189; Views of pottery making and sorghum molassas making, ca. 1900's, in North Carolina, cityscapes of Cleveland, Ohio and landscapes of a covered bridge near Mechanicsville, Ohio, ca. 1930's, and landscapes of the Delaware & Raritan Canal in Pennsylvania, ca. 1910. [graphic]
- Asheville--the mountains, the people : an historical photographic collection / edited by Edward Epstein, John Toms, and Peter Vari of the Asheville-Buncombe Library System. Featuring photograph by William A. Barnhill and others
- Life Magazine Oct 16, 1970 A two-page spread of Barnhill's photograph of an Appalachian family carding, spinning, and weaving wool
- American Heritage February 1969 Richard M. Ketchum, "Appalachia 1914," American Heritage 20 (Feb. 1969): 26-41, 85.
- Search Pack Memorial Library Collection for Images by Barnhill