John Anderson Collection

John Anderson was a photographer who worked primarily at Fort Niobrara in Nebraska and on the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota. Born in Sweden in 1869, he came to this country with his parents, eventually settling in Cherry County, Nebraska, in 1884. John was sent back to Pennsylvania to be educated and it was during this time he became familiar with photography. By 1887 he was working as a civilian photographer for the army at Fort Niobrara, near Valentine, Nebraska. In the early 1890s he was working as a clerk in the Rosebud Reservation trading post operated by Colonel Charles P. Jordan.

Anderson was a prolific photographer. There are more than 350 glass plate negatives in the collection, including formal portraits of Fool Bull, Ben Reifel, and Crow Dog. Also included are scenes from around Rosebud and views of Fort Niobrara. To explore more of the Anderson Collection, please visit the History Nebraska Digital Collections Portal. Here are just a few samples of Anderson’s work.