Randall A. Wagner Papers, 1955-2013

Randall A. Wagner was a professional Wyoming photographer from the late 1950s to the early 2000s. He was most noted as the photographer for Cheyenne Frontier Days, the Lincoln Highway Association, the Oregon-California Trails Association (OCTA), and the State of Wyoming where he worked for many years in several departments including Game & Fish, the Recreation Commission, and the Travel Commission. He took many images that appeared in official state publications. After his retirement from the State in 1987, he established The Wagner Perspective, a private travel consulting and freelance photography and writing firm.

Wagner was born in Michigan in 1934, graduated from Fremont County Vocational High School in Lander in 1952 and the University of Wyoming in 1959 with a degree in journalism. While attending UW, he worked for the Laramie Daily Bulletin and the Laramie Republican Boomerang newspapers. After a tour in the Army, he began working for the State of Wyoming in 1961 for various departments as a photographer until 1987, when he retired. Wagner served on many travel related boards and was president of the Lincoln Highway Association, the Oregon-California Trails Association, and was a long-time Cheyenne Frontier Days volunteer. As a freelance consultant, he was involved in numerous large-scale projects including Wyoming’s involvement in the national sesquicentennial celebrations of the 1843 Oregon Trail, the 1847 Mormon Pioneer Trail, and the 1849 California Gold Rush. He also helped develop the Wyoming Scenic Byway and Backway program.