James Goodwin Batterson (February 23, 1823 – September 18, 1901) was an American designer and builder, the owner of New England Granite Works from 1845[1] and a founder in 1863 of Travelers Insurance Company, both in Hartford, Connecticut.

[3] He was prepared for college but did not attend (he was later awarded honorary degrees of M. A. from both Yale University and Williams College); instead he immersed himself in his father's business in quarrying and importing stone, briefly studied law, then opened a granite and marble company.

Batterson spent several years in Egypt, and was recognized as such an authority of Egyptology, he became honorary secretary of the Egyptian Exploration Fund.

As Batterson was a leading supplier of granite and other construction stone, President Abraham Lincoln appointed him building contractor for the Library of Congress building in Washington, D.C. Batterson also constructed the Masonic Temple in New York City and the Connecticut State Capitol in Hartford, designed by Richard M.

[6] Batterson traveled to Italy to find talented sculptors to work on his designs for bronze and stone sculptures for national cemeteries and Civil War monuments.