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Archives On The Air 102: A Woman And Her Camera—Lora Webb Nichols Papers

Lora Webb Nichols loved her camera.

Lora was born in 1883. She grew up on a ranch outside Encampment, Wyoming. By the late 1890s, the area was in a copper boom.

30-year old Bert Oldman was a copper miner. He noticed Lora and gave her a camera for her 16th birthday in 1899. Lora’s father was not too sure about Bert, but later warmed up to him. Bert and Lora married in 1900.

Lora took many photos around Encampment. She also worked at the post office, owned the Encampment newspaper, and worked as a ranch cook. In 1935, she moved to California to be superintendent of a Children’s Home.

When she retired she moved home and wrote her memoirs.

You can read Lora Webb Nichols’ memoirs and see her photos at UW’s American Heritage Center.