This is the oldest known photograph taken in Colorado. The story behind it is fascinating

By In The NoCo,

Published July 29, 2026 at 5:35 AM MDT

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A faded image from 1853 in the Library of Congress collection. View of a Cheyenne village at Big Timbers, in present-day Colorado, with four large tipis standing at the edge of a wooded area. Frame with pemmican or hides hanging at the right; two figures, facing camera, standing to the left of center. History Colorado curators recently identified this as the earliest known photograph of Colorado — An 1853 daguerreotype by Solomon Nunes Carvalho, which curators at History Colorado have identified as the oldest known photograph of the state. The image is a view of a Cheyenne village at Big Timbers, in present-day Colorado, with four large tipis standing at the edge of a wooded area, and a frame with pemmican or hides hanging at the right; two figures, facing camera, standing to the left of center.

Colorado marks its 150th birthday this Saturday, Aug. 1.

Experts at History Colorado have been thinking for a while of different ways to help commemorate the event. One idea was to track down the earliest known photograph of Colorado.

And what they uncovered is striking: It’s a daguerreotype from 1853, taken during an expedition across the West more than 20 years before Colorado became a state in1876.

The image depicts a Cheyenne village with two people facing the camera, near what is now Lamar, Colo.

For the curators at History Colorado, the photo also revealed the fascinating story of the photographer – a man named Solomon Nunes Carvalho, who traveled the West with a bulky camera and captured some of the earliest photos of the region.

Erin O’Toole spoke last fall with Sam Bock, History Colorado’s director of Interpretations and Publications, to learn more about the search for the oldest photo and what it tells us about Colorado’s early history.

With Colorado's 150th just a few days away, this is the first of several conversations about the state's history we'll reshare in the days ahead.

This year marks a major birthday for Colorado, which became a state on Aug. 1, 1876. In honor of the 150th anniversary, KUNC News is exploring some of the most fascinating -- and sometimes overlooked -- stories from Colorado history.