Troutdale had its share of early photographers who set up cumbersome cameras on tripods and, using glass plates, exposed pictures of local scenery. Even more important, they took photographs of humble homes and everyday folk not ordinarily seen in the costly photography of the day.
Larch Douglass, of the same family for whom the Douglass Cemetery is named, was one of the local photographers.
Another local photographer who captured such charming local scenes as a family putting up sauerkraut and picnic parties on the Sandy River, was Mary Bourgeois Wright who lived in Springdale. She pursued photography from 1910 until her death in 1982, starting with glass plate equipment and doing her own developing. She lived at the east end of Dabney State Park. Her husband, Bill Wright, was a rural mail carrier from 1916 until 1952.