Albert Kern

Photos of Manassas Battlefield and vicinity by Albert Kern

First posted Aug 11, 2004
Last update May 10, 2007

These photos first appeard on the Manassas Battlefield website in 1997. After I left the park in 1999, they deleted all the pages I had created. I made several attempts in 2004 to gain permission from The Montgomery County Historical Society of Dayton, Ohio, to use these images on here. They have apparently ignored my inquires, giving no response at all. Therefore I am proceeding with this posting under the assumption that they either have no objections or do not care.

Albert Kern was born in 1847 in Germantown, Ohio. He came to Dayton, Ohio in the early 1870s to become a successful lawyer.

Between the years of 1880 to 1920 he was an enthusiastic photographer in the Dayton area. He served at one time as vice-president of the Dayton Camera Club. He was also a devotee of military history and spent many hours recording aspects of American military life, customs, battlefields and the like. Later many of his photos were used in articles dealing with military history.

Albert Kern's collection of 15,000 glass plate negatives is housed in the archives of the Montgomery County Historical Society of Dayton, Ohio, and a recent indexing has brought to light and made available these photos of Manassas Battlefield.

	July 14, 1896 Then & Now	The western side of the Henry House. This structure was built several years after the war.
	July 14, 1896	A close up of the above photo with Hugh Fauntlroy Henry. One of Judith Henry's sons.
	July 14, 1896*	The Henry House from near where the Jackson Monument now stands.
	July 14, 1896	Robinson House and field
	July 14, 1896	Overlooking the fields of the Henry Farm. View toward Mathews hill to the north where the Federal army came from.
	August 4, 1903 Then & Now	Sudley Road looking south from near the Henry House. Seated in the buggy is Levi Wenger.
	August 4, 1903	Enlargement of the above photo with Levi Wenger.
	July 14, 1896 Then & Now	The Stone House looking east down Warrenton Turnpike.
	July 1897 Then & Now	View north on Sudley Road toward Stone House at intersection of Warrenton Pike
	August 1903	Sudley Road and Stone House
	1908 Then & Now	Stone House from Sudley road
	1908 Then & Now	Perspective of Henry House. [View south along Sudley Road from Buck Hill]
	July 21, 1911	In 1911 a gathering of sorts was held at the Manassas Battlefields by the 15th U.S. Cavalry in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of First Manassas. This view from Sudley Road near the Henry House toward the Stone House with camp of 15th U.S. Cavalry.
	July 21, 1911 Then & Now	The 15th U.S. Cavalry from a slightly different angle. The row of dark objects just in front of the tents are horses.
	July 21, 1911	Baggage wagons on Sudley Road. This was part of the 1911 gathering. The Stone House is beyond the wagons. We are looking south, standing near the location where the picnic area was located in 1999. At the left of the photo can be seen a parking area of buggies for the spectators.
	July 14, 1896*	Looking north along Sudley Road. The drive to the right is the entrance to Henry House. The exact date of this photo is not known but close inspection of the original shows the Stone House lacks the front porch which was added very late in the 1890s. The most likely date of this photograph is July 14, 1896.
	July 14, 1896 Then & Now	Albert Kern standing in front of the Stone Bridge
	July 14, 1896 Then & Now	From atop the Stone Bridge looking downstream (south) along Bull Run
	September 1905 Then & Now	Another view of The Stone Bridge taken 9 years later
	Summer 1908 Then & Now	The Stone Bridge, looking north, upstream
	Summer 1908 Then & Now	A rare photo showing the Warrenton Turnpike where it crosses Cub Run.
	Summer 1908	Close-up of the Cub Run bridge
	1908	Groveton, from in front of the Confederate Cemetery. The L. Dogan house can be seen in the center. The L. Dogan house is one of only 3 Civil War buildings still remaining in the Park.
	1908 Then & Now	Another shot of Groveton looking west along the Warrenton Turnpike (U.S. 29, Lee Hwy.)
	1908	This is listed as Groveton but so far I haven't been able to place it correctly.
	August 4, 1903	The Groveton Monument with Albert Kern standing along side.
	August 4, 1903	An enlargement of the above photo showing Albert Kern next to the Groveton Monument.
	August 4, 1903	The same shot but with Guy Cross leaning on the monument. Guy was probably a local person hired by Kern as an assistant.
	August 4, 1903 Then & Now	Here we can see Guy Cross next to the Unfinished Railroad where it intersects with the Groveton-Sudley Road (current Featherbed Lane).
	1905	Sudley Spring and Ford
	1905 ?	Listed as Sudley Church date unknown but probably 1905
	September 1905	Gainesville Road [Groveton - Sudley Road, now Featherbed Lane] toward and within a half mile of Groveton. The field to the right is abreast of Unfinished Railroad cut.
	1899	A notice posted on the Henry Farm 100 years ago. Back then the entrance charge was $1. One hundred years later, in 1999, the entrance fee to the park was only $2. What a bargain.

Photos marked with * were missing the dates on the prints. The dates have been derived from comparing details to similar features on other photos in collection.