The first official photographer of Yellowstone National Park owned and operated a photography studio in Fargo at the same time.

F. Jay Haynes was a pioneer photographer in what is now North Dakota. The pictures he took of the luscious wheat fields of the Red River Valley, the American Indians in their colorful attire and the massive trains stirred excitement when they were published in a number of eastern journals.

There is no doubt that Haynes played a major role in causing many people to decide to settle in northern Dakota Territory.

Haynes went to work for a photographer in Beaver Dam, Wis., when he was a young man. After several months, he became an apprentice with William H. Lockwood, a noted photographer in Ripon, Wis. After falling in love with a gal named Lily Snyder, Haynes decided he should establish his own business to be able to support a family in the future. Lockwood advised him to consider Moorhead, Minn., which had a prime location on the Northern Pacific Railroad line.

In September 1876, Haynes came to Moorhead to look over the area. Satisfied with what he saw, he traveled to Brainerd, Minn., to float a proposal that would generate extra income. Haynes believed he could convince the Great Northern Railroad that they should employ a photographer to take scenic photos and they, in turn, could use those photos in their literature to entice people to visit and settle the land through which the railroads ran. The railroad superintendent liked the idea and agreed to pay Haynes $2 a day and provide him with a free pass, if Haynes would supply the railroad with a print from each negative.

With this deal in hand, Haynes returned on Dec. 13 and established the first studio in the Fargo-Moorhead area with money he borrowed from his brother-in-law.

In 1876, a gold rush was occurring in the Black Hills, Col. George A. Custer had been defeated and the Great Northern Railroad was stalled in Bismarck because of the Missouri River.

In 1877, Haynes traveled by train to Bismarck to photograph the temporary end-of-the-road for the railroad. He also took some of the best pictures of steamboats, which were still of vital importance, along with the captains and crews that ran them. He then photographed Fort Abraham Lincoln, site of Custer's departure, and the horse Comanche, the lone survivor of Custer's party at the Battle of the Little Big Horn.

When Haynes wrote to Snyder in December 1877, his letter illustrated excitement as he urged her to join him. She agreed and, in January, he journeyed to Utica, Wis., where they were married and then traveled to Fargo.

Haynes spent much of the first year of married life in Fargo, except for a photographic journey to the West Coast.

On May 19, 1879, Haynes moved to a newly constructed studio in Fargo at 725 Front St. Later that year, he proposed to Northern Pacific officials that he be made "official photographer" for their railroad, which was granted late in 1880. To capitalize on his new title, Haynes purchased a parlor car and set up a studio in it. The train would haul the car, and Haynes would stop at towns along the way, uncouple the car and spend a day or two taking family and individual pictures for a fee.

In the spring of 1880, Haynes went to Bismarck, where he photographed the steamboats during flood season.

However, his biggest adventure that year was his trip to Yellowstone Park. Haynes applied to the Interior Department to be appointed "official photographer of Yellowstone." Secretary Sam Kirkwood responded, saying he did not have the authority to grant Haynes' request but would grant him a lease of four acres of land to erect a building and conduct his work. In 1883, he was appointed "official photographer" and, the following year, was given an exclusive contract by the Interior Department to operate concessions within Yellowstone. Haynes spent every summer from 1881 to 1916 at Yellowstone Park.

Besides operating a concession stand where he sold his photographs, he also established a six-horse stagecoach line, which ran from the rail stop at Monida to Yellowstone. He continued to operate his studio in Fargo until 1889, when he moved to St. Paul, Minn. Haynes died in 1921.

By all accounts, Haynes was one of the best and most prolific photographers during the days of Dakota Territory.

His son, Jack Haynes, took over the concession business in the park in 1916, which he ran for 78 years, and began the enterprise of marketing painted tourist post cards. Because he was so closely identified with the park, Jack Haynes was affectionately known as "Mr. Yellowstone."

(Written by Curt Eriksmoen and edited by Jan Eriksmoen. Reach the Eriksmoens at cjeriksmoen@;cableone.net)