Jesse Buel

[1] In 1821, Buel, then 43, surprised many of his acquaintances by announcing that he was leaving his profitable printing business to pursue his long-standing interest in the cause of agricultural reform.

[2] Echoing Thomas Jefferson, Buel believed that, "Agriculture is truly our nursing mother, which gives food, and growth, and wealth, and moral health and character to our country.

Like other reformers of the period, he saw close links among social, moral, and economic improvement, and translated these into farming through an emphasis on good stewardship of farmland through maintaining its fertility rather than exploiting it in search of faster profits.

[4] In addition to demonstrating the effectiveness of his farming methods, Buel was a vocal champion of agricultural reform in both print and politics.

He served in the New York State Assembly for many years and was Ulster County's judge of the court of common pleas while living in Kingston.