Joseph Mitchell was the son of John Mitchell, who was one of Thomas Telford's Chief assistants, roads inspector and surveyor on his commission for Highland roads and bridges. In 1820, Joseph started working on the Caledonian Canal, under an apprenticeship with Telford, and following his father's death in 1824 he took over his father's role.
He is widely regarded as being responsible for most of the old route of the A837 in Sutherland, including many of the bridges along the route, during his time as surveyor to the county. It is likely that other roads and bridges in the county were his work, but he also worked for other counties in the Highlands and further afield.
He also engineered a number of railway routes including large parts of the Highland Railway network, and is perhaps better remembered now as a railway engineer.
