Archives West Finding Aid

Born September 10, 1843 in Connecticut, Orlando Scott Goff was a photographer active in the Dakota Territory. Goff was enlisted in the Union Army 10th CT Infantry Company K from September 19, 1861- August 25, 1865. He is registered as Orlando Goff, Orlando B. Goff, and Orlando S. Goff. Goff suffered a gunshot wound to his right breast and arm during Army service.

After his military service Orlando studied photography in Lyons, New York. He was an itinerant photographer in Portage, Wisconsin. In 1871, he moved to Yankton, Dakota Territory and established the first photography gallery in Yankton. In 1873, he moved to Bismarck where he opened his a photography studio. In that same year he became the post photographer for Fort Abraham Lincoln in Montana where he took series of photographs of George Armstrong Custer and his officers. He also took many photographs of Native Americans, including the first photograph of Chief Joseph of the Nez Pierce in 1877.

In 1877, Goff met with his apprentice David Frances Berry in Bismarck, Dakota Territory. Goff was Berry's mentor, employer, and later, business partner in Bismark, Dakota Territory. Berry went on to photograph and become friends with Sitting Bull, his son Louie, as well as Buffalo Bill Cody, Annie Oakley, and Red Cloud.

In 1878, Goff left Bismarck and went on a photographic tour of the Plains. During this time he took famous photographs of the Crow Maiden, Charging Hawk (Osage scout), Long Soldier (Hunkpapa Sioux Chief), and Sitting Bull (1881) as well as photos from the Little Big Horn Battle site, and Fort Custer (1888). During the 1870s and 1880s worked together with Berry. Goff had a gallery that was affixed to a wagon. Barry decided to make a portable gallery as well, but one that was fabricated so it could be put up and taken down at any location. The photography at this time was a rigorous endeavor. It employed glass plates and heavy equipment, often transported by wagon and/or horse.

In 1900, Goff retired as a photographer and Barry became the proprietor of Goff's Bismarck studio. In 1907, he ran as a Republican was elected to the Montana House of Representatives, representing the Chocteau County. In 1910, Goff and his wife Anna E. Eaton Goff moved to Boise, Idaho. On October 17, 1916 Goff died in Boise, Idaho.