At just twenty-four years old, Solomon Butcher had already dabbled in various professions before he ventured west to Custer County, Nebraska in 1880. Driven by an insatiable thirst for adventure and opportunity, Butcher along with his father and siblings, homesteaded near the Middle Loup River and worked to turn their land into a farm. But by his own admission, Butcher confessed the agrarian lifestyle did not suite him; however, there was one passion that ignited his soul: photography—a skill he had acquired during his teenage years. With support from his father, Butcher invested in camera equipment and constructed a portrait studio made entirely of sod. From this humble beginning, Butcher embarked on an audacious mission to create a one-of-a-kind photographic record of 19th century prairie settlement.
