Henry ("Harry") Solon Graves (May 3, 1871 – March 7, 1951) was a forest administrator in the United States. He co-founded the Yale Forest School (now the

Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies Yale School of the Environment (YSE) is a professional school of Yale University. It was founded to train foresters, and now trains environmental leaders through four 2-year degree programs (Master of Environmental Management, Master of Environmen ...

) in 1900, the oldest continuous forestry school in the United States. He was appointed Chief of the

United States Forest Service The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands. The Forest Service manages of land. Major divisions of the agency inc ...

in 1910 and served in this position until 1920.

Biography

Graves was born in

Marietta, Ohio Marietta is a city in, and the county seat of, Washington County, Ohio, United States. It is located in southeastern Ohio at the confluence of the Muskingum and Ohio Rivers, northeast of Parkersburg, West Virginia. As of the 2020 census, Mar ...

. He attended

Phillips Academy, Andover ("Not for Self") la, Finis Origine Pendet ("The End Depends Upon the Beginning") Youth From Every Quarter Knowledge and Goodness , address = 180 Main Street , city = Andover , state = Ma ...

, graduating in 1888, and

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

, graduating in 1892. He received a

Master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

from Yale in 1900. At Yale Graves was a member of the secret society

Skull and Bones Skull and Bones, also known as The Order, Order 322 or The Brotherhood of Death, is an undergraduate senior secret student society at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. The oldest senior class society at the university, Skull and Bone ...

. Graves,

James Toumey James Toumey (1865-1932) was a pioneer in American forestry, an influential botanist, and a distinguished educator at the Yale School of Forestry (now the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies). Early life and education James William ...

and

Gifford Pinchot Gifford Pinchot (August 11, 1865October 4, 1946) was an American forester and politician. He served as the fourth chief of the U.S. Division of Forestry, as the first head of the United States Forest Service, and as the 28th governor of Pennsy ...

established the Yale Forest School in 1900, the first graduate school dedicated to forestry in the United States. He served as its first Director 900-1910and returned as Dean of the forestry school 923-1939 Henry was the Provost of Yale University from 1923-1927. In 1900, he and Pinchot were also two of the seven founding members of the

Society of American Foresters The Society of American Foresters (SAF) is a professional organization representing the forestry industry in the United States. Its mission statement declares that it seeks to "advance the science, education, and practice of forestry; to enhance t ...

Henry Solon Graves Columbia Ridge Highway

Graves was Chief of the

, from 1910 until 1920. Pinchot had served as the first Chief from the foundation of the Forest Service in 1905, but he was fired by President

Howard Taft William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857March 8, 1930) was the 27th president of the United States (1909–1913) and the tenth chief justice of the United States (1921–1930), the only person to have held both offices. Taft was elected pre ...

in 1910 for speaking out against Taft's environmental policies. As the leader of the Forest Service, Graves was considered very strict. During his ten-year term, Graves was faced with a lot of work. He had to try to restore the power that the Forest Service had before Pinchot was fired, and he also had to prove that his agency was the most qualified and best suited to control and manage the national forests, because many states wanted to manage their own forests. Graves was commissioned as a major in the

United States Army Corps of Engineers , colors = , anniversaries = 16 June (Organization Day) , battles = , battles_label = Wars , website = , commander1 = ...

in 1917, during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, and sent to France to prepare for the arrival of the 10th Engineers (Forestry) (later the 20th Engineers). He was promoted to lieutenant colonel and returned to the U.S. in 1918 and to the Forest Service. Later that year, he started a movement to help develop a National forest policy for the

United States of America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...

. Due to symptoms of " Meniere's Symbole", Graves resigned from his position as Chief Forester, completing his duties in 1920. Following his retirement in 1939, Graves was able to dedicate more time in assisting his good friend, George Dudley Seymour with managing the Hale Homestead ('The Birthplace' of

Nathan Hale Nathan Hale (June 6, 1755 – September 22, 1776) was an American Patriot, soldier and spy for the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. He volunteered for an intelligence-gathering mission in New York City but was captured b ...

) in Coventry, Connecticut. Both Henry Graves and George Cromie ale Forest School, 1911 and 1st Superintendent of Trees, City of New Haven, CTprovided technical forestry management assistance to George Dudley Seymour for the woodlands surrounding the Hale Homestead, which would become the Nathan Hale State Forest in 1946. In 1933, Connecticut State Forester, Austin Foster Hawes named a Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) camp located in the Nipmuck State Forest in Union, "Camp Graves" in honor of Henry. On August 1, 1944, at a meeting of the Washington Section of the

held at the Cosmos Club in Washington, DC, Graves was presented the Sir William Schlich Memorial Award. Graves was the third person to receive this SAF award for distinguished service to American forestry. Clarence Korstian read a prepared statement by Gifford Pinchot in presenting the medal to Graves: "...I have the honor and the profound pleasure of presenting to you the Sir William Schlich memorial medal for distinguished service to American forestry. Well and truly have you earned it by a life devoted to the service of the people in forestry and in conservation. May you live long to enjoy the admiration and affection of your fellow foresters, and the respect of all who know you. It is yours by right." Honorary Degrees: Harvard University (M.A., 1911), Syracuse University (Law, 1924), Yale University (Doctor of Law, 1940). He was a member of the

Connecticut Academy of Arts and Sciences The Connecticut Academy of Arts and Sciences is a learned society founded in 1799 in New Haven, Connecticut "to cultivate every art and science which may tend to advance the interest and happiness of a free and virtuous people." Its purpose is the ...

. The Henry Solon Graves Grove is located within Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park. A stone marker in the grove, dedicated in 1926 reads: "The Grove of ancient Trees named in honor of Henry Solon Graves Forester, Educator and Administrator. A Leader of unusual ability in the profession of forestry in which he has rendered distinguished service to his country". Henry married Ella Marian Welch (Vassar, A.B., 1895) on December 19, 1903.

Notes

References

Henry S. Graves biographical profile
(

Forest History Society The Forest History Society is an American non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of forest and conservation history."Forest History Society." Echo Project. Center for History and New Media, George Mason University. http://echo.gmu. ...

)
History
of

The first American forestry award
Harold K. Steen, ''Forest History Today'', Spring 2000, p. 42-43. (PDF)

External links

* *Henry Solon Graves papers (MS 249). Manuscripts and Archives, Yale University Librar

{{DEFAULTSORT:Graves, Henry S. 1871 births 1951 deaths Phillips Academy alumni American conservationists United States Forest Service officials Yale University alumni Yale University faculty Yale Sterling Professors History of forestry education History of forestry in the United States People from Marietta, Ohio American foresters Forestry academics Activists from Ohio Recipients of the Sir William Schlich Memorial Award People with Ménière's Disease

Biography

See also

Notes

References

External links