Looking Back’s theme for 2025 features Thurston County area photographers, artists, and their subjects. William J. Yeager, an early settler, opened his photographic studio in about 1865, and worked with various business partners including John Vivian Yantis. No existing photographs by him have been identified. This pencil and charcoal portrait is by an unknown artist. Image selected and captioned by Deborah Ross on behalf of the Olympia Historical Society and Bigelow House Museum, https://olympiahistory.org.
Unknown artist, 1860s, courtesy of State Capital Museum collection, Washington State Historical Society