Part historian and part artist, Fred Farrar chronicled the Black Hills from the turn of the century through the depression of the 1930s. He was one of the few invaluable pioneer photographers, working with glass plate negatives out of a mobile darkroom. His collection of photographs records the transformation and urbanization of the American West with themes like the cowboy, the Native American, the soldier, transportation, mining, lumbering, and town building.
Fredrick William Farrar was born August 11, 1885, to John Joshua Farrar and Mary Elizabeth Hunt Potts in Cherokee, Iowa. At the age of two, he arrived with his parents in Rapid City. While places like Lead and Deadwood were considered cities with brick-paved streets, Rapid was still a cowtown with boardwalks and dirt (sometimes mud) streets.
As a young boy, Fred’s mother read him James F. Cooper’s, “The Last of the Mohicans” which had a huge influence on his love for nature and Native American culture. This led to Fred frequently visiting Lakota camps on the south side of Rapid City. Fred was always welcomed and he would often bring sugar or other items to trade for bows and arrows they made for him.
Fred’s interests also included hunting, fishing, riding horses, playing piano, singing, and photography. From an early age, Fred photographed people, events, and scenes. He would sometimes work all night to get photographs ready to sell at McNamara’s Book Store. On Sunday’s he would often hike up Hangmen’s Hill in Rapid City to photograph townsfolk who loved purchasing portraits from him.
Fred attended Rapid City High School and the South Dakota School of Mines and had many adventures with friends Dick Mansfield and Sam Price. They were known for their pranks, which included falsely claiming they had found a gold mine and spreading a story that they had discovered a new substance lighter than air called atmospherium. One incident involving the three was recorded in the May 3, 1905 edition of the Black Hills Weekly Journal. The “incident” occurred when a cold South Dakota winter caused frozen pipes from the main line to the Mansfield residence. The solution the group came up with was to rig up a boiler to force steam into the pipes in hopes they would thaw. They had been working several hours when the contraption suddenly exploded. Fred, who was acting as “lead engineer” on the operation was thrown 15 feet in the air and suffered from terrible scalding burns. Luckily, none of the other men were hurt. But the boiler ended up shooting 400 feet through a neighbor’s shed, or so the Journal reported. Fred recovered from the incident with some scarring from the burns.
Throughout his life, Fred had several jobs including carpentry and selling Christmas wreaths, but he'll be remembered for his incredible photographs of Rapid City and the Black Hills. His portraits range from local historical figures to unidentified residents. Some of the most powerful photos are of unknown subjects. Many capture the essence of the era and the human experience, both joyful and tragic.
Fred Farrar photographed every big event in early Rapid City history including parades, fairs, the circus, and the largest event of the year from 1898 to 1910, Stockmen’s Days. The South Dakota Stock Grower’s Association meeting took place annually in April and was set for all the ranchers to come buy supplies and do business in Rapid City. Cattle commission men would come from Omaha, Chicago, and Sioux City. Everyone from residents and ranchers to Native Americans from the reservation would come together take in the sights and participate in the celebrations.
Fred Farrar’s legacy leaves us with images of what life was like in the Black Hills around the turn of the century. We can experience Rapid City’s early days through his eyes, not only the shaping of a town but the people that built and lived it.
Fred Farrar passed away in 1975 at the age of 90 in Chadron, Nebraska, and was buried in Mountain View Cemetery in Rapid City. He had 5 sons, and one daughter, Mary Farrar, who preserved the collection for many years. Mary curated a traveling exhibit of his work in Chadron, Nebraska in the early 1980s and several images appear in Dave Strain’s book “Black Hills Hay Camp: Images and Perspectives of Early Rapid City”. Mary passed away in December 2015. Fred’s granddaughter, Dede Farrar, inherited the collection and donated it to the Minnilusa Historical Association and Pioneer Collection at The Journey Museum and Learning Center in 2017. The collection consists of over 2,500 negatives, photographs, and ephemera.
This article was originally published on April 14, 2019.
