Barbara Lowe Brown (1931 –2020) photographed the 1955 eruption of Kīlauea volcano in the Lower East Rift Zone, its impact on families from Kapoho to Kalapana, and the humanitarian efforts of the Red Cross. The collection includes more than 600 images with extensive documentation from February 28 – March 23, 1955. Brown had simply come to Hawaiʻi for a family vacation! Kīlauea volcano erupted in Puna until May 26, 1955.
The Lyman Museum preserves the Barbara Brown Photograph Collection, her eruption journal, and related documents. To see even more, the Lyman Museum Archives is open for research by appointment. Learn more at https://lymanmuseum.org/archives/research-collection/.
Brown submitted the following photographs and captions as part of “The Story of an Eruption,” a proposed March 1955 article:
