Displayed in the Museum is a large aerial photograph of Litchfield. The photo looks towards the southwest, with Lake Ripley in the background and many homes and businesses among the tree-lined streets.
Today, between satellite images and drone cameras, views from above are almost common place. For the earliest aerial photos, the photographer would simply climb to the tallest structure and hope for the best. But in 1901, when this Litchfield photo was taken, photographers were using new and improved tools to literally expand their horizons.
George R Lawrence was one of these photography pioneers. When he came to Litchfield, his focus was on his balloon called “Zenith.” Prior to aerial photos, Lawrence had made huge improvements in flash photography. In later years, he would turn to using kites in his photography.
In the summer of 1901, Lawrence came to Minnesota from Chicago and a few days later made his way to Litchfield. He came in partnership with The Minneapolis Tribune. The paper promised if they got 100 new subscribers to their paper, then a photo of Litchfield would be taken from 1,000 feet in the air.
The subscription drive was successful and Lawrence got to work. He brought with him his massive camera, a photographic plate that measured 29 x 41 inches, thousands of feet of rope, his balloon, and everything he needed to fill the balloon with gas. This last part was a major under taking. The balloon used hydrogen gas which was created in a large wooden tank where three tons of iron filings were dissolved by four tons of sulfuric acid. It took several hours for the balloon to fill. Once fully inflated, the balloon stood seventy feet tall and as it was reported, the “white silk shines like burnished sliver in the morning sun.”
Lawrence chose a launch site near the corner of Fifth Street North and Armstrong Avenue, as it would give the best overall view of the city. The balloon was tethered to the ground by rope. Hundreds of people came to watch. After the photograph was taken, some of the residents were given the opportunity to ride in the balloon.
The photograph venture was a success, which wasn’t always the case for the photographer Lawrence. During his first balloon accent just two months earlier in Chicago, one of the ropes snapped and Lawrence fell over 200 feet. Luckily, he was caught by phone and power lines and escaped injury.
With this photo, Litchfield would receive the distinction of being the first town to be photographed in its entirety. When The Minneapolis Tribune reported on the photo, they also noted the large number of trees saying “there are few towns in the United States so completely covered with trees as this prairie city.”
Lawrence took the photographic plate back to Chicago where it was developed and within a couple of weeks, Litchfield had received copies of their city from above. Stop by the Museum to see the full photo for yourself.
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