Verne Morton Photos

The following photos are provided courtesy of the DeWitt Historical Society of Tompkins County, Ithaca, New York, from the Verne Morton Collection and are used with permission.

Verne Morton was born October 9, 1868, in Groton, N.Y. He and his brother Neil lived on the family farm in central New York all their lives. Verne taught school and practiced freelance photography, photographing the people and their work in this rural community. The Mortons lived a frugal life, with income from the family farm and an inheritance from a carriage and wagon business. Neil bought his first automobile in 1913 and the two brothers traveled and photographed the northeastern United States. (from the introduction to the Verne Morton Photos web site of the DeWitt Historical Society)

Verne Morton took photos until he died in 1945. Most of the pictures of Locke are not dated, but it is believed they were taken on the same day in 1907 when the Methodist Episcopal church had a bell installed. The church was destroyed in the 1912 Locke fire and the bell was said to have rung for five years.

Return to Photo Collections