Index of University Press Releases

Oct. 12, 2006

Photographer Reveals “The Black Hills Yesterday & Today” at DWU

MITCHELL – Paul Horsted will reveal what he found at the original sites of historic photos during a program at 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 19 in the Sherman Center on the campus of Dakota Wesleyan University. A reception at the Dakota Discovery Museum will precede the program at 6 p.m., and a book signing will follow. The events are free and open to the public.

Horsted used photographs taken between 1875-1935 in his new book, “The Black Hills Yesterday & Today.” He located the sites of early photos taken around Black Hills towns, as well as places such as Spearfish Canyon, Harney Peak, Custer State Park, Mt. Rushmore and Devil’s Tower. Images of mining and railroads are also part of the project.

“Standing in history” is a phrase coined by Horsted, from a feeling he says he gets when visiting the sites of photographs taken around the Black Hills more than 100 years ago.

“Ever since the Custer Expedition project, I’ve been intrigued with searching out the sites of historic photographs, and then to match the original image with a new photo as closely as possible,” the photographer says. He adds that, in addition to comparisons of “then and now,” he finds the process a fascinating way to virtually step into the past, providing a psychic connection to the history portrayed in the old photograph.

“When you finally realize you have found the site, and see the same rocks there, or the same building in the same place as in 1885, it’s almost as if the historic photo was taken just moments ago,” Horsted notes.

Horsted re-photographed about 160 sites for his large-format book, which has just been released. Several of the historic photographs Horsted used for the project came from the Layne Library at Dakota Wesleyan University, including rare images made during the Dodge-Newton-Jenney Expedition in 1875.

Samples of the photo pairs resulting from this project are available at www.dakotaphoto.com.