Joel Rich (February 24, 1824July 10, 1906) was an American businessman, Democratic politician, and

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

pioneer. He was one of the founders of

Juneau, Wisconsin Juneau is a city in Dodge County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 2,658 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Dodge County. History Juneau was founded in 1845 by settlers Martin Rich and William Dennis. It became the count ...

, and represented Dodge County in the

Wisconsin State Senate The Wisconsin Senate is the upper house of the Wisconsin State Legislature. Together with the larger Wisconsin State Assembly they constitute the legislative branch of the state of Wisconsin. The powers of the Wisconsin Senate are modeled after t ...

for 1862 and 1863. His name is incorrectly listed as "Joe Rich" in the annals of the legislature (1880s), and that error is propagated in other places.

Biography

Joel Rich was born in Caroline,

Tompkins County, New York Tompkins County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 105,740. The county seat is Ithaca. The name is in honor of Daniel D. Tompkins, who served as Governor of New York and Vice President ...

, in 1824. He emigrated west to the

Wisconsin Territory The Territory of Wisconsin was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 3, 1836, until May 29, 1848, when an eastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Wisconsin. Belmont was ...

with his father in 1844 and settled on a 160-acre homestead near the center of Dodge County. He assisted his father in locating a site for a village near their homestead, and they platted the village site with other men in 1845. The village was initially named "Victory", and became the core of what is now the city of

. Shortly after platting the village, Rich assisted in constructing the first buildings, including a frame house which became the first general store in Juneau, operated by S. H. Coleman. He also worked to construct a dam at Horicon, and constructed the first building at that site. Rich was principally involved in the lumber industry in Dodge County, floating logs down to Lake Horicon to be manufactured into lumber and sold to settlers for construction. Later in life, he became involved in other business ventures; in 1872 he was one of the founding directors of the Cheese Factory company. Joel Rich was the second postmaster of Juneau, appointed in 1848 to succeed

Charles Billinghurst Charles Billinghurst (July 27, 1818 – August 18, 1865) was an American politician and lawyer who served in the United States House of Representatives from 1855 to 1859, representing the 3rd congressional district of Wisconsin as a member of bot ...

. He also served four years on the town board between 1848 and 1860, and was a member of the school district board of trustees. He canvassed all over the county in a successful campaign to encourage the voters to endorse the location of Juneau as the county seat of Dodge County. Rich was elected to the

in 1861 and served a two-year term. When the state prison board was established in 1874, Rich was one of the inaugural members appointed by Governor

William Robert Taylor William Robert Taylor (July 10, 1820March 17, 1909) was an American politician and the 12th Governor of Wisconsin from 1874 to 1876. Early life Taylor was born in Woodbury, Connecticut. He was orphaned at age 6 when his father's ship was lost ...

. While serving on the board, he also served as acting deputy warden for the state prison. In the 1880s, Rich was described as owning the finest home in Juneau. He died at his home on July 10, 1906.

Personal life and family

Joel Rich was the eldest son of Martin Rich. Martin Rich had emigrated from Vermont to

, with his father—also named Joel Rich. The elder Joel Rich owned most of the land which became the city of

Ithaca, New York Ithaca is a city in the Finger Lakes region of New York, United States. Situated on the southern shore of Cayuga Lake, Ithaca is the seat of Tompkins County and the largest community in the Ithaca metropolitan statistical area. It is named ...

. Joel Rich married twice. He married first wife, Esther M. Wright, in 1846. They had three children together before her death in 1853, but one of their children died in infancy. Rich subsequently married Helen Melissa Hart in 1856 and had at least five more children. Rich was survived by his second wife and seven children. Rich was active throughout most of his life with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and was president of the Dodge County lodge.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rich, Joel People from Tompkins County, New York People from Juneau, Wisconsin Democratic Party Wisconsin state senators 1824 births 1906 deaths 19th-century American politicians