William H. Jackson

His budding career was interrupted by the Civil War, where he didn't see much action but filled sketchbooks with drawings that are still preserved today. On his return, he found employment in another photography studio, and his improving skills won him a fine salary. After a year he became engaged to a young woman from a prominent family.

When that relationship ended after a spat, the heartbroken Jackson, along with two friends, despite knowing nothing about oxen or freight, signed up as bullwhackers for a freight outfit bound for Montana. After traveling as far as California, he decided that documenting the West might indeed be his life's work, and with his father's financial assistance set up a studio in Omaha, Nebraska in 1869.

Jackson's photographs came to the attention of Dr. Ferdinand Hayden, who offered him the opportunity to document the wonders of Yellowstone as part of the Hayden expedition. The photos Jackson took became a sensation, resulting in the creation of Yellowstone National Park in 1872, as well as the beginning of Jackson's national fame.

In 1878, Jackson established a studio in Denver, which would be his base for many years. Here he returned to studio photography, but continued to document the West on his travels, including several trips to Oregon.

At the age of 81, Jackson put down his camera and picked up a paintbrush. In the next decade, Jackson completed approximately 100 paintings, mostly dealing with historic themes such as the Fur Trade, the California Gold Rush and the Oregon Trail. Jackson revisited many of the sites he depicted in his paintings so he could paint them as accurately as possible.

William H. Jackson died in 1942 at the age of 99, and was laid to rest in Arlington National Cemetery.

--Summarized from The Scotts Bluff National Monument website