Book
Joshua Gross Rich (1820-1897): The Life and Works of a Western Maine Pioneer and Wildlife Writer
(2010)
Abstract
Joshua Gross Rich seemingly lived several lifetimes in the nearly eight decades he spent on earth. During various times, he made a living by trapping, guiding, farming. While living in the Rangeley Lakes region, he sold his winter catch to fur traders and as scientific specimens to Harvard University. Always willing to change with the times, Rich transitioned from being a professional trapper to a trial justice for Oxford County, a pension agent for Civil War veterans, a correspondent for many newspapers, and finally Bethel’s humane officer. While living in Upton, Maine, Rich owned and operated a hotel, a general store, and an early – if not the first – fishing resort on the Rangeley Lakes, “Angler’s Retreat.” Between the many wildlife specimens he sold to Harvard, and the numerous observations of fish and game he authored, Rich left a substantial legacy of the status of many wildlife species in western Maine during the 1800s.
Keywords
- early Maine naturalist,
- Rangeley Lakes,
- J. G. Rich,
- western Maine
Disciplines
Publication Date
2010
Publisher
University of Maine, Maine Folklife Center
Series
Northeast Folklore
Citation Information
William B. Krohn. Joshua Gross Rich (1820-1897): The Life and Works of a Western Maine Pioneer and Wildlife Writer. XLIII(2010) Available at: http://works.bepress.com/william_krohn/18/