By Tim Nicklas
Director, Grand Encampment Museum
Merritt Dana Houghton (1846-1919) was an artist and photographer who sketched scenes of the Rocky Mountain West and Northwestern United States in the late 19th and early 20th century. From 1902 until 1904, Houghton focused his attention on the Grand Encampment Mining District and the Upper North Platte Valley. Houghton produced sketches and photographs of the towns, buildings, mines, ranches, and farms in the area. The results of his work culminated in the publications of A Portfolio of Wyoming Views: The Platte Valley and the Grand Encampment Mining District (1903) and Views of Southern Wyoming: Copper Belt Edition (1904).
In addition to the sketches and photographs that Houghton produced in the two publications published by the Encampment Herald, he also traveled around the Upper North Platte and Little Snake River Valleys, sketching area ranches. Upon completing the sketches, Houghton would sell the wonderfully detailed pieces of art to the owner. Many families have proudly displayed framed Houghton sketches of their ranches over the years within their homes.
In 2023, the new University of Wyoming Press published its first-ever book, The Art and Life of Merritt Dana Houghton in the Northern Rockies: 1878-1919, by Michael A. Amundson. In the book, Amundson features much of the artwork Houghton produced of the Encampment Area 120 years ago. This artwork, along with copies of the two Houghton publications of the Upper North Platte Valley, can be seen on display or in the archives of the GEM.
This past June 26, the Grand Encampment Museum had the great fortune to host Dr. Michael Amundson, who gave a fascinating presentation on the art and life of Merritt Dana Houghton. In front of an enthusiastic crowd at the event, Dick Perue gifted the GEM the only two known surviving original Houghton copper plates used to publish his work. One depicts the town of Saratoga in 1903. The other is a relief map of the Encampment Mining District. Both plates were used for the publication of A Portfolio of Wyoming and the Grand Encampment Mining District. The relief map is on display at the museum, along with an original copy of the map that was printed directly off the plate. A giant “thank you” goes out to Dick Perue for allowing the Grand Encampment Museum to preserve these treasures for generations to come!
Author /Bio
Tim Nicklas is the Director of the Grand Encampment Museum, historian, and twice-winning author. Nicklas won the Skade Award for Winter Park Resort: 75 Years of Imagining More and the Skade Honorable Mention for Copper Mountain Resort: 50 Years of Fortitude. He has written dozens of history articles for various publications and appeared in numerous TV and film documentaries, including several for PBS.
