Tomar Jacob Hileman was born in Marienville, Pennsylvania. After working in the Chicago area, he graduated from the Effingham School of Photography. He began his photography career in Colorado and in 1911 he moved to Kalispell, Montana. Alice Georgeson and Tomar Hileman were the first couple to marry in Glacier National Park in 1913.

In 1924, he was appointed the official photographer for the Great Northern Railway. Hileman photographed Glacier National Park and Waterton Lakes National Park in Alberta, Canada. Hileman was the first photographer of the Prince of Wales Hotel in Waterton, Alberta. A photo-finishing lab was opened at the Glacier Park Lodge and also at the Many Glacier Hotel.