OCTA 2023 Convention Poster, Fort Mitchell by William Henry Jackson, Limited Edition of 200
$50.00
In stock
Shipping calculated in cart/checkout:Â Shipping rates for first items start at $7, calculated based on weight of total order.
A limited print of William Henry Jackson’s 1933 watercolor “Fort Mitchell,” issued as the official commemorative poster for the 41st Annual Oregon-California Trails Association convention. BHPFA partnered with Scotts Bluff National Monument to produce the edition. Only 200 prints exist, each with a Letter of Authenticity.
- 24″ x 18″ print, ships flat in a protective sleeve (27 x 20 x 3 in packaged, 15 oz)
- Limited edition of 200, available only through BHPFA
- Includes a Letter of Authenticity
- Artist: William Henry Jackson (1843-1942), Oregon Trail photographer, painter, and Scotts Bluff donor
- Half of every sale funds restoration of the diorama cabinets in the Scotts Bluff National Monument visitor center
In stock
60-day returns · Ships from South Dakota via USPS
OCTA 2023 Convention Poster, Fort Mitchell by William Henry Jackson, Limited Edition of 200
$50.00
In stock
Shipping calculated in cart/checkout:Â Shipping rates for first items start at $7, calculated based on weight of total order.
A limited print of William Henry Jackson’s 1933 watercolor “Fort Mitchell,” issued as the official commemorative poster for the 41st Annual Oregon-California Trails Association convention. BHPFA partnered with Scotts Bluff National Monument to produce the edition. Only 200 prints exist, each with a Letter of Authenticity.
- 24″ x 18″ print, ships flat in a protective sleeve (27 x 20 x 3 in packaged, 15 oz)
- Limited edition of 200, available only through BHPFA
- Includes a Letter of Authenticity
- Artist: William Henry Jackson (1843-1942), Oregon Trail photographer, painter, and Scotts Bluff donor
- Half of every sale funds restoration of the diorama cabinets in the Scotts Bluff National Monument visitor center
In stock
60-day returns · Ships from South Dakota via USPS
Real USPS rates, no markup. The money we save funds trail crews and internships.
Join BHPFA for $30 a year -> get your code by email in seconds. -> Use it at checkout today. Show your card at hundreds of nonprofit park stores nationwide for 10% off.
Every item is selected or approved by rangers and staff. Your purchase keeps them on the front lines.
Real USPS rates, no markup. The money we save funds trail crews and internships.
Join BHPFA for $30 a year -> get your code by email in seconds. -> Use it at checkout today. Show your card at hundreds of nonprofit park stores nationwide for 10% off.
Every item is selected or approved by rangers and staff. Your purchase keeps them on the front lines.
Description
What is this poster?
This is the official commemorative print for the 41st Annual Oregon-California Trails Association (OCTA) convention, held July 25-29, 2023 in Gering, Nebraska, near Scotts Bluff National Monument. The convention theme was “We Do Old In A New Way.” Black Hills Parks & Forests Association produced the print in partnership with Scotts Bluff National Monument as the convention’s commemorative poster and a fundraiser for the park’s visitor center.
The artwork is “Fort Mitchell,” a 1933 watercolor by William Henry Jackson. Jackson painted Fort Mitchell late in his life, working from memory and his own earlier sketches of the post, which the US Army built in 1864 about two and a half miles northwest of Scotts Bluff to protect stagecoach and wagon traffic on the Oregon Trail. The painting is part of a body of work Jackson donated to Scotts Bluff National Monument: roughly 1,200 sketches, photographs, watercolors, and personal items, including 60 watercolors painted in the 1930s. Scotts Bluff holds the largest collection of original Jackson work anywhere.
The print run is limited to 200. Once they are gone, no more will be made. Each print ships with a Letter of Authenticity from BHPFA.
Specifications
- Print size: 24″ x 18″
- Packaged dimensions: 27 x 20 x 3 in (ships flat in a protective sleeve)
- Weight: 15 oz packaged
- Edition size: 200 prints
- Artist: William Henry Jackson (1843-1942)
- Original artwork: “Fort Mitchell,” watercolor, 1933
- Authentication: Letter of Authenticity from BHPFA
- Sold unframed
- Standard 18″ x 24″ poster frames fit this print
Who was William Henry Jackson?
William Henry Jackson (1843-1942) is the photographer whose images of Yellowstone helped convince Congress to establish it as the first national park in 1872. He was the official photographer for the Hayden Geological Survey of the 1870s, and his work documented the American West during the era of westward migration along the Oregon, California, and Mormon trails. Jackson was also a painter. In his later years (he lived to 99) he painted watercolors and oils of the western landmarks he had photographed and visited, including the area around Scotts Bluff.
Scotts Bluff National Monument holds the largest collection of Jackson’s original work anywhere. The collection arrived through donations from Jackson and his family and forms the basis of the monument’s interpretive history program. The 1933 “Fort Mitchell” watercolor reproduced in this print is part of that collection.
What was Fort Mitchell?
Fort Mitchell was a small US Army post built in 1864 a few miles northwest of Scotts Bluff, in what is now western Nebraska. The fort’s job was to protect overland trail traffic, particularly stagecoaches and wagon trains on the Oregon and California trails, during the unrest along the central Plains in the mid-1860s. It was a sod-walled outpost rather than a major frontier fort, manned by a small garrison, and was abandoned within a few years as the trail era wound down and the railroad replaced overland wagon travel. Jackson painted it from memory in 1933, drawing on his own earlier sketches and on the visual record he had built over decades of travel along the trails.
About the 41st OCTA convention
The Oregon-California Trails Association (OCTA) is the national organization that preserves and interprets the four overland trails: the Oregon Trail, the California Trail, the Mormon Pioneer Trail, and the Pony Express Trail. The 41st annual convention was held July 25-29, 2023 at the Gering Civic Center, with day-long tours to trail sites in Nebraska and Wyoming, sessions on trail history, and evening events at the Legacy of the Plains Museum and Scotts Bluff National Monument. The convention theme, “We Do Old In A New Way,” referenced both the long history of the trails and the contemporary interpretive work happening at Scotts Bluff and surrounding sites.
BHPFA produced this poster as the convention’s official commemorative print, with half of every sale funding restoration of the diorama cabinets in the Scotts Bluff visitor center.
Who is this for?
Jackson collectors and Western art enthusiasts. Original Jackson watercolors are held by museums, and authenticated reproductions of his late paintings are uncommon. A 200-print limited run from the institution that holds the largest collection of his original work, with a Letter of Authenticity, is the kind of print Jackson collectors look for.
OCTA members and trail history readers. If you attended the 2023 convention, this is the official commemorative. If you research or write about the Oregon, California, Mormon, or Pony Express trails, the Fort Mitchell painting is a documentary record of a frontier post almost no surviving structures or photographs cover.
Scotts Bluff supporters and Nebraska Panhandle visitors. Buying the print directly funds restoration of the diorama cabinets in the Scotts Bluff visitor center. The dioramas are a Mission 66-era exhibit element that interprets the trail experience for visitors arriving at the bluff.
What “half of proceeds support” actually funds
Half of every print sold (the BHPFA share of the proceeds) goes to restoration of the diorama cabinets in the Scotts Bluff National Monument visitor center. The cabinets are part of the visitor-center exhibits that interpret Oregon Trail history for the roughly 100,000 people who visit Scotts Bluff each year. They have been in use for decades and need conservation work to keep them in display condition.
Frequently asked questions
How big is the print?
The image is 24″ x 18″. Standard 18″ x 24″ poster frames fit it. It ships flat in a protective sleeve, packed at 27 x 20 x 3 inches, 15 oz total.
Is this an original William Henry Jackson watercolor?
No. The original 1933 watercolor is in the William Henry Jackson Collection at Scotts Bluff National Monument. This is a fine art print reproduction, produced in a limited run of 200 with a Letter of Authenticity from BHPFA. Once the 200 are sold, no more will be made.
How many prints are left?
The total edition is 200. Current stock shows on the product page. Once the edition sells through, this print will not be reprinted.
What is the Letter of Authenticity?
A signed letter from BHPFA confirming the print is one of the 200 in the official commemorative series, with the print’s number in the edition. The letter ships in the same protective sleeve as the print.
Does it come framed?
No. The print ships unframed and flat. Standard 18″ x 24″ poster frames are widely available at art and home goods stores and fit this print directly.
Why was BHPFA the publisher and not OCTA itself?
BHPFA is the official nonprofit cooperating association for Scotts Bluff National Monument. Producing commemorative prints and educational materials for partner-site programs is a standard part of the cooperating-association role. The OCTA 2023 convention was hosted in the Scotts Bluff area, and BHPFA partnered with the monument to produce the convention’s commemorative print and direct half the proceeds back into Scotts Bluff visitor-center restoration.
Does buying this support Scotts Bluff National Monument?
Yes. Half of every print sold funds restoration of the diorama cabinets in the Scotts Bluff visitor center. The remaining proceeds support BHPFA’s other programs across its partner parks and forests. BHPFA is the official nonprofit partner of Wind Cave National Park, Jewel Cave National Monument, Scotts Bluff National Monument, and Agate Fossil Beds National Monument, as well as the Black Hills National Forest and Nebraska National Forests & Grasslands.
Where can I see the original painting?
The original 1933 “Fort Mitchell” watercolor is held in the William Henry Jackson Collection at Scotts Bluff National Monument. The monument rotates Jackson works through its visitor-center exhibits; not every painting is on display at any given time. The visitor center is in Gering, Nebraska, open year-round.
Is this sold anywhere else?
No. The 200-print edition is available only through BHPFA. It is not carried by OCTA, by Eastern National, or by other cooperating associations.
Every Purchase Makes a Difference
When you shop with Black Hills Parks & Forests Association, you are directly funding:
- Education programs — nature workshops, Junior Ranger activities, and homeschool adventures for kids across the Black Hills
- Trail maintenance — keeping hiking trails safe and accessible at Wind Cave, Jewel Cave, and the Black Hills National Forest
- Visitor services — park store operations, interpretive programs, and the staff who help millions of visitors each year
- Conservation — supporting the long-term health of public lands in the Black Hills and Nebraska
BHPFA is the official nonprofit partner of the National Park Service and U.S. Forest Service in the Black Hills region. We have supported these public lands since 1946.
Additional information
| Weight | 15 oz |
|---|---|
| Dimensions | 27 × 20 × 3 in |
| Brand | Black Hills Parks & Forests Association |
| Dimensions | 24" x 18" (print); 27 x 20 x 3 in (packaged) |
| Weight | 15 oz |
| Material | Fine art print on paper |
| Year Published | 2023 |
| Edition | Limited Edition of 200 |
Note on International Orders
Some countries charge import duties, VAT, or handling fees on delivery. These are set by your local government and are not included in our checkout total. Customers are responsible for paying any such charges before receiving their package.
