Croft, Thomas, 1849-1909
Biography
Thomas F. Croft moved to Arkansas City from Illinois in 1885. In 1894 he likely took the famous photograph of the Land Run Opening the Cherokee Strip for settlement while working for a photographer named Prettyman. In 1896 he took the first known image of a tornado in action during a visit to Oklahoma City. He regularly traveled to Indian Territory to shoot images of Native Americans, such as the one we are examining. Later on in his career he moved to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Territory.
Found in 2 Collections and/or Records:
Tornado, 1896-05-12
A cabinet card depicting an F2 tornado that hit five miles NW of downtown Oklahoma City, striking four farms, destroying one barn, killing some poultry, and tearing the kitchen off a farm house. "9" and "Hoyt" written on back in ink. Croft imprint on front.
Tornado, 1896-05-12
A cabinet card depicting an F2 tornado that hit five miles NW of downtown Oklahoma City, striking four farms, destroying one barn, killing some poultry, and tearing the kitchen off a farm house. "28" and "Hoyt" written on back in ink. Croft imprint on front.