Historical Portrait
Eugene H. McCorkle (World War I, Tulare County), 002
Archive record
Historical portrait of Eugene H. McCorkle from Tulare County, California, taken in 1914 during the World War I era. Public domain photograph from archives.
About this photograph
The record identifies this as a portrait of Eugene H. McCorkle from Tulare County, taken in 1914. The photograph is held by a county library whose collection consists largely of ordinary residents, families, schools and businesses from the area rather than public figures.
Tulare County lies in California's San Joaquin Valley, a farming region that saw heavy settlement in the later nineteenth century and depended on irrigated agriculture.
The date presents a puzzle. The United States did not enter the First World War until April 1917, three years after this portrait was made. Local studios photographed many enlistees in uniform before they left for service, and county historical collections hold large numbers of these portraits. For many young men, such a sitting produced the only formal photograph they ever had. Families often kept copies at home.
If McCorkle sat for this portrait in 1914, it predates American involvement in the war. The record offers no explanation for the early date and identifies neither the photographer nor the circumstances. The photograph survives in a collection of local history material later digitised and made publicly available.
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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