George Dorr

George Bucknam Dorr (December 29, 1853 – August 5, 1944) was an American preservationist. Known as the "father of Acadia National Park," he spent most of his adult life overseeing the park's formation and expansion.

Charles William Eliot called the first meeting of what would evolve into the Hancock County Trustees of Public Reservations in 1901, but it was Dorr's vision that ensured the lands would be protected and preserved for future generations.

Acadia National Park

Dorr first visited Mount Desert Island as a fifteen-year-old in 1868, on a vacation with his parents. Old Farm (also Oldfarm), designed by Maine architect Henry Richards, until 1878, however. The remains of this residence are still visible, the main house having been demolished in 1951. Their summer neighbor was Harvard University president Charles William Elliot.

Dorr initially believe that his personal fortune could support purchasing land on behalf of the park forever, but it proved not possible. He had declined any salary except for one dollar a month as the first custodian of the national monument, but after the park became Acadia in 1929, he accepted a regular salary.

Despite income from his highly successful Mount Desert Nurseries, Dorr's inheritance was depleted in the decade preceding the inauguration of Franklin D. Roosevelt as President. affluent parents whose textile fortunes he inherited. to house the department, as well as helping the university acquire properties between Harvard Yard and the Charles River. Maine's tough winters meant the mansion had fallen into disrepair by 1951. A new roof was needed, as well as other structural repairs, estimated to cost around $30,000. After the National Park Service performed part of the demolition, John D. Rockefeller Jr. donated $5,000 to tear the remnants down.

Death Dorr died in 1944, aged 90. In his honor, the National Park Service and the executors of his estate renamed the mountain that overlooks Sieur de Monts Spring as Dorr Mountain. his ashes were returned to Bar Harbor, where they were scattered.