The Memorials of Acadia National Park

HCTPR - Acadia National Park’s Newest Memorial

Acadia NP’s 100^th 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!