Robert E. Nichols, Collector, Glass Plate Negatives by Bruce Washburn of Harrison County

Digital image files of glass plate negatives of a Harrison County photographer Bruce Washburn who lived in Good Hope on Midway Road, Harrison County. Some images are identified, most are not. Identified locations include Jane Lew in Lewis County; and West Milford and Lost Creek in Harrison County. There are many images documenting the timber industry (perhaps in Webster County), including a sawmill; and fewer images documenting oil and gas activity, and agricultural work. There are also photographs showing a baseball team, one room school, train depot, and the Webster Springs Hotel, among other types of pictures. Especially noteworthy is a photograph of the frontier cabin of Colonel William Lowther (1742-1814) showing the condition of his log home, dating from the late 1700s, in 1908. This collection was found in the 1980s in the wall of a house in Good Hope, West Virginia that had been owned by Bruce Washburn. Robert E. Nichols acquired them, identified some of them, preserved them, and gave them to his son Ken Nichols. Robert Nichols grew up in West Milford, and raised a family in Bridgeport.