Southern Appalachian Digital Collections

Western Carolina University (20) View all

Views of Western North Carolina: Deep Water Bridge and Trestle

  • wcu_picturing-337.jp2
  • Thomas H. Lindsey was a 19th century photographer based out of Asheville, North Carolina. He was one of the earliest commercial photographers to make scenic images of the region. This series of 5” x 8” prints were mounted to heavy card stock and labeled, “Views of Western North Carolina.” Many of the cards also carried the caption “The Land of the Sky,” a term popular around the turn of the 20th century. Recently constructed rail lines opened the region to visitation and many of Lindsey’s photographs included a portion of a railroad track as if to encourage visitation. He also produced “Lindsey's Guide Book to Western North Carolina” in 1890. Apparently, Lindsey was a prolific photographer as an advertisement for his studio on South Court Place in Asheville invited the public to see “more than one thousand views on exhibition.”