At the age of twenty-four years old, Solomon Butcher had already tried his hand at several occupations before leaving the comforts of Illinois to file a homestead claim in Custer County, Nebraska in 1880. Together with his father and siblings he put great effort into being a farmer, but by his own admission it was a lifestyle he didn't like. He did like photography, a trade he learned as a teenager. He invested in camera equipment and built a portrait studio from sod. From there, Butcher launched his vision of creating a one-of-a-kind photographic record of 19th century prairie settlement.