Joseph Battell (July 15, 1839 – February 23, 1915) was a publisher and philanthropist from Middlebury,

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

. Battell is credited with preserving Vermont forest land including the land for Camel's Hump State Park. The

Joseph Battell Wilderness The Joseph Battell Wilderness is one of eight wilderness areas in the Green Mountain National Forest in the U.S. state of Vermont. The wilderness area, created by the New England Wilderness Act of 2006, is named in honor of Joseph Battell (1839& ...

in the

Green Mountain National Forest Green Mountain National Forest is a national forest located in Vermont, a temperate broadleaf and mixed forest typical of the New England/Acadian forests ecoregion. The forest supports a variety of wildlife, including beaver, moose, coyote, bl ...

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. 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 Bread Loaf Mountain is a mountain located in Addison County, Vermont, in the Breadloaf Wilderness in the Green Mountain National Forest. The mountain is part of the central Green Mountains. Bread Loaf Mountain is flanked to the northeast by Mo ...

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 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 ''The Middlebury Register'' was a weekly newspaper published in Middlebury, Vermont Middlebury is the shire town (county seat) of Addison County, Vermont, United States. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the population was 9,152. Middlebury is home ...

'', 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. Battell is the author of the book, ''Ellen--or the Whisperings of an Old Pine'', published in 1903. The book is a dialogue between a sixteen-year-old girl, Ellen, and a wise old

white pine ''Pinus'', the pines, is a genus of approximately 111 extant tree and shrub species. The genus is currently split into two subgenera: subgenus ''Pinus'' (hard pines), and subgenus ''Strobus'' (soft pines). Each of the subgenera have been further ...

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. Her mountain, Mount Ellen, a 4000-footer partially enclosed within the Sugarbush ski area, can be found at . He donated his horse farm to the federal Morgan horse breeding program, and is credited by some as saving the breed. The Morgan horse farm, operated by the

University of Vermont The University of Vermont (UVM), officially the University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, is a public land-grant research university in Burlington, Vermont. It was founded in 1791 and is among the oldest universities in the United ...

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 The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

World War I 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 other conflicts.

Philanthropy

Battell left nearly all of his land holdings in trust as "wild lands" to "the citizens of the State of Vermont and the visitors within her borders." In a deed dated 24 January 1911, Battell sold (for one dollar) approximately of virgin forest, including the summit of

Camel's Hump Camel's Hump (alternatively Camels Hump) is a mountain in the Green Mountains in the U.S. state of Vermont. The north slope of the mountain borders the Winooski River, which has carved through the Green Mountains over eons. At , it is tied (with ...

, to the State of Vermont. The deed declared that "trees growing on the land herein conveyed are not to be cut...and the whole forest is to be preserved in a primeval state." In effect, Battell had created Vermont’s first natural area strictly protected for its wilderness character. Four years later, through his last will and testament, Battell substantially added to his legacy by placing over of Vermont's mountain forests in perpetual trust as "wild lands." Of these, more than surrounding the Bread Loaf Inn (including the Inn itself) were left to Middlebury College, while another on the neighboring ridge from Mount Ellen to Mount Abraham were willed to the United States Government for a National Park. Since the federal government declined Battell’s gift, the latter tract of mountain forest went to Middlebury College as well. In his will, Battell directed the trustees as follows: Middlebury College sold almost of the Battell lands to the U.S. Forest Service in the 1930s plus another to the agency in the 1950s (while retaining the land surrounding the Bread Loaf Inn and the Snow Bowl). Eventually these land acquisitions allowed the Forest Service to create the northern unit of the

. In particular, the

Breadloaf Wilderness The Breadloaf Wilderness is one of eight wilderness areas in the Green Mountain National Forest in the U.S. state of Vermont. It was created by the Vermont Wilderness Act of 1984 and later expanded by the New England Wilderness Act of 2006. With ...

and the

, created in 1984 and 2006, respectively, include much of the land gifted by Battell in 1915. Battell Hall, a dormitory at Middlebury College, is named for Battell as recognition for the land he bequeathed to the college. A stone bridge in downtown Middlebury that Battell built in 1893 is also named in his honor. Battell's stone bridge replaced a wooden one that had burned down in 1891.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Battell, Joseph Writers from Vermont 1839 births 1915 deaths American publishers (people) People from Middlebury, Vermont 19th-century American businesspeople