Joseph Battell

This article is about the wildlife philanthropist. For other uses, see Joseph Battell (disambiguation).
Joseph Battell
Battell as Middlebury College trustee, circa 1900
Battell as Middlebury College trustee, circa 1900
Born(1839-07-15)July 15, 1839
Middlebury, Vermont, US
DiedFebruary 23, 1915(1915-02-23) (aged 75)
Washington, DC, US
Resting placeMiddlebury Cemetery, Middlebury, Vermont
OccupationPublisher
LanguageEnglish

Joseph Battell (July 15, 1839 – February 23, 1915) was an American publisher and philanthropist from Middlebury, Vermont.[1] Battell is credited with preserving Vermont forest land including the land for Camel's Hump State Park. The Joseph Battell Wilderness in the Green Mountain National Forest bears his name.

Battell attended Middlebury College in the early 1860s but he was forced to abandon his studies due to ill health. On the advice of his doctor, Battell spent a weekend at a farmhouse in nearby Ripton where the clear mountain air would help cure his ailing lungs.[2]

He so loved the beauty of the surrounding hills that he decided to buy the farmhouse, which became known as the Bread Loaf Inn, named for Bread Loaf Mountain not far away. Over the years, numerous new buildings, porches, and barns were added in order to accommodate Battell's many friends and guests. The Inn and the surrounding mountains served as Battell's home and sanctuary for the rest of his long life.

Over the years, Battell purchased over 30,000 acres (121 km2) of forest land within and beyond the view of the Bread Loaf Inn. At his death in 1915, he was the state's largest individual landowner.

Battell owned and edited a newspaper, the Middlebury Register, and authored several books, including the "American Morgan Horse Register." In addition, he served at the Vermont Legislature and as a trustee for Middlebury College.[1]

Battell is the author of the book, Ellen--or the Whisperings of an Old Pine, published in 1903.[3] The book is a dialogue between a sixteen-year-old girl, Ellen, and a wise old white pine tree. Among the matters they discuss is a refutation of the wave theory of sound propagation. It is illustrated with many photographs of Vermont scenery, including several of Ellen.[4] Her mountain, Mount Ellen, a 4000-footer partially enclosed within the Sugarbush ski area, can be found at 44°09′37″N 72°55′46″W / 44.160147°N 72.929307°W / 44.160147; -72.929307.[5]

He donated his horse farm to the federal Morgan horse breeding program, and is credited by some as saving the breed.[6][7] The Morgan horse farm, operated by the University of Vermont since 1951, remains operational in 2019. In addition to its role in promoting the breed, the farm produced Morgan hoses for use as cavalry mounts by the US Army in World War I and other conflicts.[8]

  1. ^ a b Northup, Jim (Summer 1999). "Joseph Battell: Once and Future Wildlands Philanthropist" (PDF). Wild Earth. 9 (2): 15–22. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 6, 2012.
  2. ^ Bushnell, Mark (July 23, 2017). "Joseph Battell, Vermont's greatest philanthropist and conservationist". VTDigger. Retrieved December 24, 2019.
  3. ^ Elkins, James. "Joseph Battell's Ellen, or the Whisperings of an Old Pine". Writing with Images. Retrieved March 18, 2020.
  4. ^ Gardner, Martin, 1957. Fads and Fallacies in the Name of Science pp. 82-83, Dover; ISBN 0-486-20394-8
  5. ^ Google Maps at maps.google.com
  6. ^ Classic Bloodlines Accessed online: July 1, 2007
  7. ^ Williams, John O. "Morgan Horse Record". Yearbook of Agriculture, 1926, p. 526-529. Retrieved November 12, 2008.
  8. ^ "Vermont Historical Society to Feature Morgan History". American Morgan Horse Association. April 20, 2017. Retrieved January 25, 2019.