Richard M. Bloomer Glass Plate Negative Collection

Sandy Hill was a small, quiet village until the opening of the Glens Falls Feeder Canal, an offshoot of the Champlain Canal, in the 1820s. Mills and factories brought prosperity to the area. In 1910, the village changed its name to Hudson Falls hoping to bring tourists to see Baker's Falls on the Hudson River. 

This was the backdrop for portrait photographer Richard M. Bloomer, who operated a studio in downtown Hudson Falls for 26 years. Bloomer's first studio opened in the Pender Block at 138 Main Street in 1905 when the village was still Sandy Hill. In 1912, he moved into state-of-the-art accommodations in the Flood Block at 158 Main Street Hudson Falls and remained there until 1931. During that time, he photographed thousands of everyday people and essentially created a time capsule of the local community in striking black and white images.