BRIGHAM CITY – The halls at Brigham City-Utah State University campus is decorated with large black and white photographs showing what life was like in earlier generations of Box Elder County. Some of the photographs are from as early as the 1880’s.
A photograph of Shoshone tribal members in the fields of a Box Elder farm.
The rich history of Brigham City in photographs also dots the walls of the Box Elder Historical Courthouse. The different floors of the building have photographs taken by one of the three Compton photographers who documented the rich history of the county.
Some of the photographs look as though they could have been taken for postcards, some are events like Peach Days or Box Elder High School events. There are photographs of unique buildings, including the tabernacle, courthouse, and even some of the unusual houses built in the city by early settlers of the city.
Brigham City Mayor Dennis Fife began his term in 2010 and started a Brigham City History Project. He pulled area historians together to tell the history of the city and surrounding areas. That history produced a lot of information about the photographers that made the pictures telling the visual story of Box Elder County.
The photographs are the work of three generations of Compton photographers. The first Compton, Alma, was sent by his parents from England to Salt Lake City when he was 12 years old with his 4-year-old sister in about 1865. His parents joined them a year later. He was an early pioneer member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
In 1865 the common mode of transportation from England to the U.S. was by steamship which took under ten days. The common way to get to Salt Lake City at that time was by foot, handcart or ox-pulled wagon.
A row of earlier Box Elder County Schools hang in the Historic Box Elder Courthouse in Brigham City on Wednesday Feb. 5 2025. The photographs are part of the Compton Photography collection.
Alma began his photography career in 1882, as an unpaid apprenticeship with J. Christman’s Photographers of Ogden. A year later he rented a tent and photo equipment and traveled to places in Southern Idaho and Cache Valley making photographs before finding a home in Brigham City where he opened a photography business.
Alma married Jane Dalton in 1886, and she became his assistant. He eventually built a studio on the corner of Main and 100 South.
The two added postcards, souvenirs, art and music supplies to their business.
When Alma’s health began to fail, his wife and son Mathew took over the studio.
Alma died in 1919. His grandson Glen also became a photographer and worked at the same location.
Glen, a WWII veteran, managed the studio from 1967 until 1994 when the business closed its doors for good. The building was torn down and a bank was built in its place.
Ty Erickson is training to be a county appraiser walks by the wall of Compton collection photographs of early schools and county buildings on Wednesday Feb. 5, 2024.
Besides the historic photographs Comptons made during their over 100 years of business, they also made thousands of portraits, engagement and family pictures.
Utah State University has a collection of original negatives and photographs from Compton Photography and the Brigham City Museum of Art and History also has a large collection of prints from the collection.