Historical Portrait
Clarence S. McKee (World War I, Tulare County)
Archive record
Public-domain historical portrait of Clarence S. McKee from Tulare County, California, circa 1914 during World War I era. Part of California historical archive.
About this photograph
The archive dates this portrait between 1914 and 1918, though the United States did not enter the First World War until April 1917.
Clarence S. McKee was from Tulare County in California's San Joaquin Valley. The county library maintains a local history photograph collection documenting residents, families, and community life rather than notable figures, and this portrait forms part of that holding.
Studios in the war years photographed large numbers of men in uniform before they departed for service. Selective Service registered millions, and families often commissioned portraits so that a copy could remain at home. Many of these photographs became the only formal portrait a young man ever sat for, and county archives across California consequently hold substantial numbers of them.
The creator of this portrait is unknown. The photograph has been digitised and made publicly available through California Revealed, a statewide programme working with libraries, archives, museums and historical societies to bring local collections online.
Compiled from the catalogue record and reference notes on the formats and events involved. The archive record above is the primary source.
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