Peter Britt, a Swiss emigre to the Jacksonville, OR area in the 1850’s was also an avid horticulturist, especially in his later years. Among other things he was a photographer, a miner and a vintner. This is a picture of him reading under one of his banana plants, probably taken by his son who hadPeter Britt, a Swiss emigre to the Jacksonville, OR area in the 1850’s, was an avid horticulturist, especially in his later years. He was also a photographer, a miner, financier, orchardist, having planted both peaches and pears and a vintner. His photography business was primarily portraiture, but he travelled around Oregon taking pictures of the landscape and farm country when he could.  He was the first to successfully capture Crater Lake in photograph.  This is a picture of him reading under one of his banana plants, probably taken by his son, who had joined him in his photography business. The banana is identified as ‘Musa ensete’ a name no longer accepted. This is now known as Ensete ventricosum and is likely the ‘green’ form grown from seed.  He successfully cultivated palms and banana plants, jasmine and magnolias, oranges, and gingko trees in Jacksonville, a zn 8a area. The largest, oldest, Sequoiadendron gigantea in Oregon still stands on his old estate planted at the birth of his son. It is 205′ tall.