HCTPR - Acadia National Park’s Newest Memorial
Acadia NP’s 100th anniversary
as a national park occurred in 2016. As one of many centennial celebrations, a memorial plaque
was placed on Cadillac Mountain to honor the Hancock County Trustees of Public
Reservations. The HCTPR was the organization that stitched together various
properties that ultimately formed the park in 1916. The memorial is near the northwest corner of the Blue
Hill Overlook parking lot.*1 |
| HCTPR memorial |
 |
Jim Linnane photo
At Blue Hill Overlook parking lot
|
Its bronze plaque reads:
In 1901, forward-thinking citizens on Mount Desert
Island formed the Hancock County Trustees of Public Reservations to acquire
lands for free public use. Empowered by the Maine Legislature in 1903 to own
lands of “scenic beauty, historical significance, scientific study or “sanitary
value,” the Trustees acquired nearly 5,000 acres. In 1916, they donated their
holdings to the United States, forming the core of what became Acadia National
Park. The Hancock County Trustees of Public Reservations continue to hold and
maintain the Woodlawn estate, the Black House, as a public museum in Ellsworth.
This plaque, dedicated on September 6, 2016 during the Park’s Centennial,
honors the Trustees’ foresight and vision that made Acadia National Park
possible.Here is a video of the dedication ceremony: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFwrHvHbslY
It is interesting to note that it was not until 1908 that the Trustees acquired their initial holdings. The first was the crest of Barr Hill near Seal Harbor from George B. Cooksey. The second was the Bee Hive mountain property from Eliza Lee Homans. The third, from the trustees of the will of Linda Dows Cooksey, was the Sea Cliffs parcel near Seal Harbor that contained the Champlain Monument.*2
Prior to the HCTPR memorial, the last memorial installed in Acadia NP was in 2008 in honor of Ruth and Tris Colket. That plaque is just off the path on the east side of Jordan Pond. *3
*Footnotes:
1 HCTPR memorial coordinates: N44 21.01595 W068 13.81764
2 Bar Harbor Record, September 9, 1908, p.4.
3 Colket memorial coordinates: N44 19.73453 W068 15.07649 For more information see my blog article at http://acadiamemorials.blogspot.com/2016/09/a-pleasant-perambulation-over-mile-long.html
Note: I thank Jim Linnane, a friend and fellow hiker, for the HCTPR memorial photograph and GPS coordinates. It wasn’t a nice day atop Cadillac!
