PIERRE — The South Dakota State Historical Society is commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Black Hills photography of William H. Illingworth.

Illingworth studied the art of wet plate photography in both Chicago and Philadelphia, and he accompanied Captain James L. Fisk, as a photographer, in his expedition to Montana Territory in 1866. The Black Hills Expedition of 1874 was commanded by George Armstrong Custer. The U.S. 7th Calvary left Fort Abraham Lincoln (North Dakota) on July 2, 1874, reached the Black Hills by late July 1874, and returned to the fort on Aug. 30, 1874.

Illingworth produced roughly 70 glass plates featuring landscapes of the Black Hills and movements of the 7th Cavalry. Several of the locations Illingworth photographed in the Black Hills are identified today.

The South Dakota State Historical Society acquired the glass plates in 1920. The glass plates, which Illingworth created and transported through the Black Hills, are held in the collections of the South Dakota State Archives. The Illingworth glass plates were scanned in 2015 and are available for viewing on the South Dakota Digital Archives.