This image above is drawn from a collection of several hundred glass plate negatives that photographer John Jackson found decades ago in an attic on Maple Avenue in the Delaware County town of Hobart. The plates, dating from 1900 to 1920, had not seen the light of day for a half a century at the time of their rediscovery. When Jackson held them to the window, he was struck by the images’ sense of playfulness that captured “in an artful way, the flavor of that time in history.” These photographs were the work of Anna Carroll (1868-1925), who lived in that Maple Avenue home from 1895 until her death. This summer, a selection of Anna’s photographs will be exhibited in MURAL Gallery in Hobart.
Carroll controlled every aspect of her process, from setting up shots to developing the plates and making prints. Most of her photographs range from candids to informally posed compositions, usually taken in Hobart, Stamford, or South Kortright. Carroll’s talents earned her considerable local attention. She was invited to shoot picnics, lawn games, and porch gatherings. More personal photographs, like this one depicting her brother Adelbert lounging in a hammock, offer glimpses into the domestic lives of her family and friends
Carroll left no record about her motives for taking photographs. This silence leaves viewers room to draw their own conclusions. For journalist Diane Galusha, Carroll was a folk artist who taught herself the difficult technical medium of photography in order to “give back to the community an image of itself.” Exhibition co-curator Carolyn Bennett similarly describes Carroll as a community photographer. Yet she wonders whether Carroll may also have been driven by a more existential urge to document herself and her world. As an unmarried woman without children, could Anna have intended for these photographs to leave a personal legacy?
The exhibition ultimately raises questions about who gets to shape the visual memory of a place. In an era when men operating formal studios dominated photography, Carroll captured a far less restrained view of early 20th-century rural life. Yet the physical remnants of visual memory are fragile. Had these plates not been rediscovered by Jackson and preserved by the Delaware County Historical Association and Hobart Historical Society, this perspective might have vanished.
“Anna Carroll (1868-1925)” will be shown at MURAL Gallery, 631 Main Street, Hobart August 22 to September 27. The exhibition, curated by Carolyn Bennett and Richard Hudson, opens on August 22 with a reception from 2 to 4pm. The gallery is open on Saturdays and Sundays from 12 to 4pm.
This article appears in August 2026.
