Herman Schnitzmeyer (1879-1939) is noted for making a homestead claim on Wild Horse Island around 1910. He came to the Flathead Valley primarily as a homesteader and secondly as a photographer. He had been a commercial photographer in Illinois, where he was born in 1879. Today he is known for documenting noteworthy events in the Flathead and Mission Valleys including several scenes from the Flathead Lake steamboat era, Teah T. Maroney’s first float plane flight from Flathead Lake, and Mr. Frank M. Kerr at the groundbreaking ceremony for the Kerr Dam. His artistic photographs captured the majesty of the scenery around Flathead Lake and the Mission Mountain Range. Schnitzmeyer eventually sold his Wild Horse Island claim and moved to Polson where he later opened a studio but his doors were often locked due to the freelance work assignments he did for the Northern Pacific Railroad, which allowed him to travel the northwest.

Biography of Herman Schnitzmeyer
Herman Schnitzmeyer - Timeline
Johan W. Rode - Timeline
Louis Desch Biography
The Northern Pacific Railroad Years

Mr. Frank M. Kerr with Indian Chiefs, at future site of Kerr Dam near Polson, May 31, 1930, photograph, by Herman Schnitzmeyer

Related Programs

Lecture by Denny Kellogg
Mr. Kellogg will discuss Herman Schnitzmeyer’s work and show additional photographs of Wyoming, Montana and other areas from the Northern Pacific Railroad collection.
Tuesday, February 21, 5:30 pm 
Friday, February 24, 3:00 pm

Please call 755-5268 to RSVP for this special program.