James B. Olcott

Luther James Bradford Olcott (May 30, 1830 – April 23, 1910) was an American farmer, specializing in turfgrass, who influenced the development of Manchester, Connecticut, and the University of Connecticut.

Biography Olcott was born on May 30, 1830, in Manchester, Connecticut, to parents Sidney and Edna (Adams) Olcott. His family had lived in the town since 1711, and his father was a prosperous farmer. James had a younger sister, Cynthia Hooker, who resided in Manchester throughout her life, and an elder brother, Allen, who died young. He retired in 1890 and turned over his farm to his eldest son, Walter. He advised Frederick Law Olmsted on his designs of Central Park and Bushnell Park, especially his lawns.

Olcott died from cardiovascular disease at his South Manchester home on April 23, 1910. He was survived by three of his six children: Walter Hooker, Harry Ensign Olcott, and Annie Ensign Faulkner. He experimented to find better ways to transport and transplant turf and, in the last years of his life, believed he had identified which grasses were best suited for Connecticut's climate. His grass gardens drew coverage from the region's newspapers as well as from Charles Piper.

Olcott "was a farmer first, and never saw eye-to-eye with the new class of professional agronomists." Peers deemed him something of a crank, who "was said to have spent multiple days in San Francisco shopping for a hat he considered acceptable." His turfgrass achievements are largely lost to posterity.

The Storrs Agricultural School eventually evolved into the University of Connecticut.