Biographical Notes on E.C. Eddy, Photographer


There are quite a few real photo postcards by E.C. Eddy on our North Carolina Postcards website. I was curious to find out more about him, and the only mention I could find was in an edition of the “Images of America” series titled, “Around Southern Pines: A Sandhills Album, Photographs by E.C. Eddy,” by Stephen E. Massengill, 1998.

E.C. Eddy was born in New Hampshire in 1882 and moved to Pinehurst, N.C. in 1907 to assist the photographer Edmond L. Merrow in taking pictures of travelers at a resort. Eddy eventually set up his own studio, and would travel with his family back and forth between North Carolina winters and New Hampshire summers in order to catch both locations during their peak tourist season.

The image below is taken from Massengill’s book, and shows the type of scaffold system Eddy used to take bird’s-eye view photographs. It is likely he used a similar set up to photograph the downtown scene of Southern Pines shown above.

Eddy had a 38 year career as a photographer in North Carolina, and we know many of his surviving photos because local merchants frequently bought the images in order to reproduce them as postcards.

14 thoughts on “Biographical Notes on E.C. Eddy, Photographer”

  1. speaking of possum postcards: theres a postcard among the collection’s political pinbacks depicting president taft as ‘billy possum’ wearing a “watch charlotte grow” button en route to meck dec day, 1909… (taft’s possum was not very successful knockoff of tr’s bear)… cartoon seems to signed ‘hen’…. btw, festivities included dedication of the realty (later independence) bldg, nc’s skyscraper first steel frame bldg and first skyscraper (12 stories)…

  2. I have an original photo painting by E.C. Eddy it is signed by him. I had been trying to find out some more about him can anyone help me out

    1. Hi Renee, I’ve tripped over this sight lately and wondered if you ever got a reply? I’m E.C.Eddys grandson with many of his photos, belongings,etc. The photo you have sounds like one called Haggard, but he was prolific in local scenery shots. If you want you can contact at wysi59@gmail.com. Thanks

      1. Now, I need to correct my mistake of sending you this response. It was intended for Greg, a few comments down. You didn’t describe your photo, but would be happy to hear of it. Thanks

    2. E.C. Eddy was my grandfather (my mother’s father). She was the middle of three girls. Sadly he passed when I was only about ten years old, in New Port Richey FL where he and my grandmother spent winters in their later years. He was a wonderful man and I wish I could have known him better and longer. His early photographs were wonderful for historical, educational and sentimental value. They showed the early area, development and life of Southern Pines, Pinehurst & Aberdeen NC. It’s great to know that his photography work is so appreciated even now!

      1. Jennifer: I write history stories for PineStraw magazine and would like to talk to you about your grandfather. Text me at 614-499-4714.

      2. Jennifer, you may have noticed that I have had an exchange of emails with Thad Berrier, also a son of Eleanor and a grandson of Ellsworth Eddy. My posting appears below this comment. I wonder if you could either call me at 910-315-8334 or drop me an email at wcovingon1@nc.rr.com
        FYI, I live in Southern Pines, NC, about 3 blocks east of the Eddy house. I can send you a bunch of pictures of the Eddy family which were given to me by the Moore County Historic Association if you would like. Bill C.

  3. On March 25, 1911, Ellsworth C. Eddy was a passenger in the first airplane to visit Pinehurst NC. The pilot was Lincoln Beachey, famed pilot (and stunt pilot) during that time. Eddy brought his camera along and, as far as I can tell, was the first person to take an aerial photograph over North Carolina. Any challenges on that?

    1. Doug: very interested in how you arrived at the March 25th date. I think he may have made the first airplane aerials in US

  4. I have a photo of trees along a road with Eddy’s studio and town on the back. Bought it in Connecticut years ago. Thoughts?

    1. Greg, this is probably a shot of one of E.C. Eddys (my grandfather) more popular images of tall pines lining a sandy woods road titled Haggards, or Thaggards.

  5. Shay LocomotiveEngine 355

    Hello, I am Bill Covington from Southern Pines. I have recently read the conversation concerning the photographer E.C. Eddy, and noted the comments by Thad
    Berrier, his grandson, and Jennifer Meador, his granddaughter. My question to Thad concerned a Eddy photo of two Shay locomotives working in Southern Pines titled “toot-toot”. Specifically, I am looking for someone who had either the original photo or a very good, high resolution copy of the photo. My email is wcovington1@nc.rr.com. This is my earlier question to Thad. It turns out that he did not have a copy nor had he ever seen the photograph. Thanks, Bill Covington If you would like to see a fuzzy copy of the picture, drop me an email and I will pass it on.

    Hello Thad, I am Bill Covington in Southern Pines, NC. I am helping work on a small site located on a local state park where we have found a number of parts which seem to be related to railroads. During our research to determine whether there ever was a railroad operating on or near the park, we ran across this photograph taken by your Grandfather. We think that this type of locomotive was used back in the late 1890s until the early 1910s. These are a very small engines specifically designed to operate on spur lines to move goods from one community to another. The photo shows two Shay locomotives used to haul pine timber and pinesap from the collection site to the processing site. The photo is titled “Toot-Toot” and it has Eddy’s name written on it.

    We have only a 3rd or 4th generation copy of this photo so the details are quite fuzzy. What I was wondering is do you have the original photograph, or do you have a 1st generation copy? And if so, could we get a copy. We want to get the manufacturing serial number from the front of the engines; the one on the right is probably #355 meaning that it was built in Lima, Ohio in 1891 and sold to a man in Tennessee who later sold it to Angus Cameron whose company was in Vass, NC. Vass is just a few miles north of us. We believe the second locomotive is number 1873 and it was built in 1907 and sold directly to Cameron. Both have been junked, long ago.”

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