DOCSLIB.ORG

Foundation and Founder

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Foundation and Founder 76 Foundation and Founder By Sean Cox South of Bar Harbor, a small dirt parking lot marks the entrance to a stretch of land that is perhaps the most significant piece of Acadia National Park on Mount Desert Island. Locals and experienced visitors frequent this small parcel of land and explore the trails that wind through the ruins of an impressive summer estate overlooking Compass Harbor. These grounds present an opportunity to escape the seasonal influx of park and town visitors, and are therefore popular with families and hikers desiring some seclusion. Here, if one takes time to thoroughly observe the surroundings, markers of once-manicured grounds are visible. A brook lined with granite blocks winds through the trees, under the park pathway, and into the forest. Aging white pines dot the property. These trees do not grow straight and limbless as they would in a grove, but instead spread their large lower branches, crowding above formerly wide-sweeping lawns. Seasons of pine needles and brittle leaves coat rough- cut granite steps and the foundations of Crumbling brickwork and exposed mortar on the edge of the estate outlying service buildings, while exposed foundation. Although deterioration is clear, the skill applied in masonry of the grand summer cottage construction is also evident; brick flooring exposed to the elements for crumbles and vanishes beneath new decades has not rippled from abusive winter frost-heaves. Photograph by growth. In what appears to be a neglected the author corner of Acadia, lie both the foundation of the Dorr estate named "Oldfarm," and the foundation of the park itself. 77 Sea-facing elevation of Oldfarm. Courtesy of the National Park Service, Acadia National Park In 1850, Charles Dorr and Mary Ward were As unique as the man who owned it, married and settled in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts. Oldfarm was an eclectic and imposing Their second son, George Dorr, later transcribed cottage, sitting comfortably south of Bar the story of his birth: "on the 29th of December, Harbor and overlooking the Atlantic. 1853 during a wild snowstorm," he wrote, "my The creation of Oldfarm heralded a father plowed his way on foot to carry the good period during which a summering elite news to my grandfather Ward."1 Dorr was born transformed formerly utilitarian lands into a wealthy Massachusetts family, and eventually into opulent statements of personal developed a fashionable summer residence on wealth and romanticized "natural" Mount Desert Island. The land on which the spaces. The mansion was a work of Dorr family built their estate was purchased in art, a creation without duplicate on 1868, and the home completed around 1880. The Mount Desert Island. Its many unique estate, christened "Oldfarm" in reference to the old features embodied the romantic era of farmland on which it was built, was one of the first Bar Harbor cottagers, a period of rapid large summer cottages on Mount Desert Island. construction of grand vacation estates It provided Dorr with an escape from increasingly across the island. The Dorr family had suburban Massachusetts. Within these walls, Dorr employed a Boston-trained architect would eventually craft his plans for a national from Maine—Henry Richards—to assist park on the island his family had so loved. in planning the cottage. The building 78 reflected "practical" ideas generated by of the Porcupine [islands] black against the Charles and George Dorr and the artistic growing light reflected in the Bay, then changing vision of Mary Dorr. Dorr’s writings offer insensibly to green as the light grew stronger."3 vivid descriptions of Oldfarm, ranging A view like this, which today is obscured by the from the record of its conception to the new growth of trees in what was once the foundation, admiration of its early magnificence. inspired Dorr to spend over a decade advocating for the federal protection of lands on Mount Desert The first story we built of granite Island until, in 1916, he finally succeeded in creating split out from tumbled boulders in the Sieur de Monts National Monument. The federal the gorge. At the last some brick protection of this patchwork of formerly private was used that added their touch of land constituted a significant step forward for land color to the warm-toned granite. preservation east of the Mississippi. The area first All was shingled [with] the warm earned its title as national monument, and then, brown, never rotting California in 1919, earned the national park designation. The Redwood. Great chimneys of brick careful crafting of the case by the Hancock County rose above the shingles promising Trustees of Public Reservations (HCTPR), and generous warmth, a promise they Dorr’s articulate and persistent effort, ensured that have well fulfilled. In the interior, federal infrastructure would protect natural spaces the frame was built with extra for future generations of islanders and seasonal strength—my father saw to that— visitors. Alongside other dedicated trustees—among while all the interior was skillfully them Charles W. Eliot—Dorr acted as an advocate, and carefully worked out from caretaker, and superintendent for Acadia, and the best of Michigan White Pine donated decades of his time and vast financial assets … The result, when we at last to realize his vision. Rough and rocky coastline, moved in the summer of 1880, glacial-cut lakes, forested natural habitats, and the the carpenters were still working bald wind-swept summits of Mount Desert Island’s upon the house, was a delightful mountains were all preserved by the Hancock home and a home it has proved County Trustees. Oldfarm was Dorr’s inspiration to be at any season of the year.2 and his gateway to preservation efforts on the island, and it reminds us of similar donations of property Oldfarm stood on the rocky and financial assets from his fellow "cottagers," outcropping overlooking Frenchman which allowed the land to be federally protected. Bay, with the surrounding islands and After Dorr’s death in 1944, Oldfarm stood empty, mainland in the distance. The view as Dorr had no children to inherit the property. from the three-story construction would Dorr never intended for his beloved home to descend have been awe-inspiring. Fortunately, into disrepair or to be reclaimed by the landscape. Mr. Dorr described the view from his Before his death, Dorr had developed plans for Sea Room: "I used to see, day after the estate, but without his continued advocacy, day, this wonderful, slow breaking of the house was doomed. Dorr spent the final years dawn, with the bold rounded mass of his life between Oldfarm and the Storm Beach 79 Cottage—a guesthouse that had been constructed the expense of its conservation. The Park as part of the estate plan and is an official park Service’s report contains data concerning service building today. Although not nearly as the costs for conversion into a concession grand as the mansion, Dorr found it much more building, an administrative outpost, a park convenient in his extreme old age. After Dorr moved museum, or a hybrid office and interpretive permanently into the guest cottage, Oldfarm was site. The extensive lawns, gardens, and rented out to friends and guests. Near the end of his tennis court that surrounded the mansion life, Dorr wrote several letters expressing his wish were prohibitively expensive to maintain, that Oldfarm be preserved as a part of the forested and therefore fell into disrepair. The park island he so loved. In August 1940, Dorr addressed service reported that engineers found a proposal to President Franklin D. Roosevelt: Oldfarm to be "structurally sound," but "mechanical work"—the heating systems, I write about a matter that is much in my electrical wiring, and plumbing—was heart at this time and I hope you look found to be outdated and insufficient. upon it favorably. This old family home, In a methodical fashion, the specialists which has been in its day the scene of composed six pages of typewritten cost much generous hospitality, I would like analysis before finally recommending greatly to have become, yet while I live, the that the park service, "strip Oldfarm of possession of the United States, that it may such shelving, doors, or piping and other serve the President and executive officers in similar materials as may be of use in the maintaining health and vigor for their work.4 Park in the near future, advertise for bids for razing [the] building, and as many Though Dorr desired a presidential retreat to be made of the other Dorr Estate buildings not of his cottage, it was not to be so. President Roosevelt required in the operation of the park."6 responded later that month, "your thoughtful and Oldfarm was ultimately destroyed generous offer to donate this property to the United by the very conservation group that States is very much appreciated. I know of no Dorr had worked so tirelessly to bring to provision of law, however, which would authorize me Mount Desert Island. Though Dorr had to accept it for the purpose you mention."5 Roosevelt hoped that the National Park Service then suggested that the property simply be donated would protect historic treasures such as to Acadia National Park, to be made available for his mansion, the organization decided executive purposes if so needed. His original hopes that the mansion would be too expensive disappointed, Dorr donated Oldfarm to the park. to update and transform and agreed to The house was spared from the great Bar Harbor fire obliterate Dorr’s beloved home. However, of 1947, yet visitors walking the grounds of Oldfarm the job was not entirely finished, and the today see but a shadow of its former glory, and even remains of a few walls were still standing that is slowly disappearing into the undergrowth.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Winter 2016 Volume 21 No
    Fall/Winter 2016 Volume 21 No. 3 A Magazine about Acadia National Park and Surrounding Communities Friends of Acadia Journal Fall/Winter 2016 1 President’s Message FOA AT 30 hen a handful of volunteers And the impact of this work extends at Acadia National Park and beyond Acadia: this fall I attended a Wforward-looking park staff to- conference at the Grand Canyon, where gether founded Friends of Acadia in 1986, I heard how several other friends groups their goal was to provide more opportuni- from around the country are modeling ties for citizens to give back to this beloved their efforts after FOA’s best practices place that gave them so much. Many were and historic successes. Closer to home, avid hikers willing to help with trail up- community members in northern Maine keep. Others were concerned about dwin- have already reached out to FOA for tips dling park funding coming from Washing- as they contemplate a friends group for the ton. Those living in the surrounding towns newly-established Katahdin Woods and shared a desire to help a large federal agen- Waters National Monument. cy better understand and work with our As the brilliant fall colors seemed to small Maine communities. hang on longer than ever at Acadia this These visionaries may or may not year, I enjoyed a late-October morning on have predicted the challenges and the Precipice Trail. The young peregrine opportunities facing Acadia at the dawn FOA falcons had fledged, and the re-opened trail of its second century—such as climate featured a few new rungs and hand-holds change, transportation planning, cruise and partners whom we hope will remain made possible by a generous FOA donor.
    [Show full text]
  • The Gilded Age and the Making of Bar Harbor Author(S): Stephen J
    The Gilded Age and the Making of Bar Harbor Author(s): Stephen J. Hornsby Source: Geographical Review, Vol. 83, No. 4 (Oct., 1993), pp. 455-468 Published by: American Geographical Society Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/215826 Accessed: 25/08/2008 18:13 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use, available at http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp. JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use provides, in part, that unless you have obtained prior permission, you may not download an entire issue of a journal or multiple copies of articles, and you may use content in the JSTOR archive only for your personal, non-commercial use. Please contact the publisher regarding any further use of this work. Publisher contact information may be obtained at http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=ags. Each copy of any part of a JSTOR transmission must contain the same copyright notice that appears on the screen or printed page of such transmission. JSTOR is a not-for-profit organization founded in 1995 to build trusted digital archives for scholarship. We work with the scholarly community to preserve their work and the materials they rely upon, and to build a common research platform that promotes the discovery and use of these resources. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. http://www.jstor.org THE GILDED AGE AND THE MAKING OF BAR HARBOR* STEPHEN J. HORNSBY ABSTRACT. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, an American urban elite created an extensive North American pleasure periphery, with sea- sonal resorts that dramatically reshaped local economies and landscapes.
    [Show full text]
  • Surprising Revelations: Intimacies in the Letters Between Charles W
    1 “Surprising Revelations: Intimacies in the Letters Between Charles W. Eliot, George B. Dorr & John D. Rockefeller Jr.” Ronald H. Epp, Ph.D. Jesup Memorial Library August 10, 2016 Earlier this year I proposed to Ruth Eveland several topics for a centennial presentation at the Jesup Memorial Library. The topic of intimacies in the letters of the most prominent park founders was strongly preferred. This is not a subject I discussed in my biography of George B. Dorr. Indeed, preparation of this talk forced my reopening of research materials which proved more challenging than I expected. I needed relaxation after fifteen years of research and writing, not re-immersion in the difficult craft of writing. But the topic was rich in potential and like Mr. Dorr I embrace the notion of persistence. So here I am in mid-August in one of four surviving island physical structures that bear the design imprint of Mr. Dorr (the others being Oldfarm’s Storm Beach Cottage, the park office at COA, and the park Abbe Museum). I am not here to talk about external manifestations of Dorr’s impact; nor will I enter here into the emphasis that other local historians have given to the differences between Dorr, Eliot, and Rockefeller. Frankly, my research has shown that their personalities were more similar than the dissimilarities promoted by Sargent Collier, R.W. Hale Jr., Judith S. Goldstein, and H. Eliot Foulds. All of us agree lon one point, however, that these park founders appreciate the achievements of one another, exchanged ideas, offered 2 encouragement, and expressed candid feelings about a wide array of topics.
    [Show full text]
  • Siew- De Mo Nts Establishing Dr
    Abbe Museum - Siew- de Mo nts Establishing Dr. Abbe's Museum in Mr. Dorr's Park by Ronald J-l. Epp Ph.D. For nearl y fi fty yea r ( 188 1- 1928) th e path s of two prom in ent Bar Harbor res id ents intersected repeatedl y. Dr. Robert Abbe ( 185 1- 1928) and Mr. George B. Dorr (1853 -1 944) we re movi ng independ entl y in th e ame direction, ali gned with other summer and perm anent Hancock Co un ty re ident , towa rd improvi ng the qu ali ty of li fe on Moun t Desert Island (M DI ). In the la t ix yea rs of Dr. Abbe's li fe, Dorr and Abbe wo ul d share the pa th that led to a glade bes ide th e Springhouse at Sieur de Monts in Lafayette Nati onal Park. At thi s ite a museum of native America n artifacts was bein g erected that wo uld bea r Dr. Abbe' name. Unfo rtLmately, he would not witness its dedi ca ti on nor oversee its early development. In 2003 th e Abbe Museum celebrated its 75th anni ver ary; the same year marked th e I 50th ann iversa ry of Mr. Dorr 's birth.1 The intersecti on of th e interests of Dorr and Ab be, the exercise of their di stincti ve areas of experti se, and th eir shared va lue wou ld prove to be very important fo r th e developm ent of the ls land.
    [Show full text]
  • CADILLAC MOUNTAIN ROAD Acadia National Park
    CADILLAC MOUNTAIN ROAD HAER NO. ME-58 Acadia National Park Roads & Bridges Between Park Loop Road and Cadillac Mountain Summit Bar Harbor Vicinity Hancock County Maine WE WRITTEN HISTORICAL AND DESCRIPTIVE DATA PHOTOGRAPHS XEROGRAPHIC COPIES OF COLOR TRANSPARENCIES HISTORIC AMERICAN ENGINEERING RECORD National Park Service Department of the Interior P.O. Box 37127 Washington, D.C. 20013-7127 AlE HISTORIC AMERICAN ENGINEERING RECORD CADILLAC MOUNTAIN ROAD HAER No. ME-58 I. INTRODUCTION LOCATION: Between Park Loop Road and Cadillac Mountain Summit, Bar Harbor vicinity, Acadia National Park, Mount Desert Island, Hancock County, Maine Quad: Seal Harbor, ME UTMS: West end: Park Loop Road 19/560630/4912875 East end: Cadillac Mountain summit 19/561700/4911150 DATE OF CONSTRUCTION: 1929-1932 DESIGN: Bureau of Public Roads ENGINEER: Leo Grossman, Bureau of Public Roads, Resident Engineer CONTRACTORS: Joseph P. McCabe, Inc., Boston, MA, grading Green and Wilson, Waterville, ME, surfacing STRUCTURE TYPE: Park scenic highway FHwA STRUCTURE NO NPS Route 1A OWNER: Acadia National Park, National Park Service SIGNIFICANCE: The Cadillac Mountain summit, chief peak of Acadia National Park, is the highest point on the Atlantic Coast between Labrador and Brazil. The Cadillac Mountain Road makes the summit accessible to park motorists and is one of the chief attractions of the park. PROJECT INFORMATION: Documentation of the Cadillac Mountain Road is part of the Acadia National Park Roads and Bridges Recording Project, conducted in 1994- 95 by the Historic American Engineering Record. This is one in a series of project reports. HAER No. ME-11, ACADIA NATIONAL PARK MOTOR ROADS, contains an overview history of the park motor road system.
    [Show full text]
  • Acadia, Katahdin, and the Pathway from Private Lands to Park Lands
    Maine Law Review Volume 71 Number 1 Article 3 January 2019 Conserving a Vision: Acadia, Katahdin, and the Pathway from Private Lands to Park Lands Sean Flaherty University of Maine School of Law Anthony L. Moffa University of Maine School of Law Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.mainelaw.maine.edu/mlr Part of the Land Use Law Commons, President/Executive Department Commons, and the Property Law and Real Estate Commons Recommended Citation Sean Flaherty & Anthony L. Moffa, Conserving a Vision: Acadia, Katahdin, and the Pathway from Private Lands to Park Lands, 71 Me. L. Rev. 37 (2019). Available at: https://digitalcommons.mainelaw.maine.edu/mlr/vol71/iss1/3 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Journals at University of Maine School of Law Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Maine Law Review by an authorized editor of University of Maine School of Law Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. CONSERVING A VISION: ACADIA, KATAHDIN, AND THE PATHWAY FROM PRIVATE HANDS TO PARK LANDS Sean Flaherty & Anthony Moffa ABSTRACT I. INTRODUCTION II. THE ANTIQUITIES ACT AND NATIONAL MONUMENTS III. MAINE’S ELITE EYE CONSERVATION A. Hancock County Trustees for Public Reservations B. Elliotsville Plantation, Inc. C. Private-to-Public Conservation Comes at a High Cost of Both Money and Time IV. THE FEDERAL LAND PROTECTION PROGRAM A. Maine’s Legislature Threatens Revocation of Trustee’s Public Charter B. Local Opposition in Katahdin Fuels Statewide Political Pressure C. Local and State Politics May Threaten Conservation Efforts V.
    [Show full text]
  • Acadia Carriage Roads) Acadia National Park Roads & Bridges Bar Harbor Vicinity Hancock County of Ine ME
    ROCKEFELLER CARRIAGE ROADS HAER NO. ME-13 (Acadia Carriage Roads) Acadia National Park Roads & Bridges Bar Harbor Vicinity Hancock County of ine ME. 14- 7 WRITTEN HISTORICAL AND DESCRIPTIVE DATA PHOTOGRAPHS MEASURED AND INTERPRETIVE DRAWINGS XEROGRAPHIC COPIES OF COLOR TRANSPARENCIES HISTORIC AMERICAN ENGINEERING RECORD National Park Service Department of the Interior P.O. Box 37127 Washington, D.C. 20013-7127 HISTORIC AMERICAN ENGINEERING RECORD ROCKEFELLER CARRIAGE ROADS HAER No. ME-13 I. INTRODUCTION LOCATION: Various locations on eastern half of Mount Desert Island, Hancock County, Maine. Approximately 47 miles of road are located in Acadia National Park, and the remaining 11 on Rockefeller land near Seal Harbor. Quads: Bar Harbor, Maine Hulls Cove, Maine Salisbury Cove, Maine peal Harbor, Maine DATES OF CONSTRUCTION: 1917-35 ENGINEERS: Charles W. Simpson Paul D. Simpson STRUCTURE TYPE: Broken stone carriage roads ORIGINAL OWNERS John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Acadia National Park, National Park Service PRESENT OWNERS: Acadia National Park, National Park Service David Rockefeller SIGNIFICANCE: Built by industrialist and philanthro- pist John D. Rockefeller, Jr., the carriage road system on Maine's Mount Desert Island has become of the principal attractions of Acadia National Park. Rockefeller, who had an avid personal interest in carriage driving and landscape design, built the roads to indulge his favorite pastime, but made ROCKEFELLER CARRIAGE ROADS HAER No. ME-13 (Page 2) the system available to the public for their use and enjoyment. The roads provide access to many of the island's favorite scenic attractions, and include lakeside circuits, climbs to mountain shoulders and a summit, and routes through dense forest groves.
    [Show full text]
  • Fall 2007 Volume 12 No
    Fall 2007 Volume 12 No. 2 A Magazine about Acadia National Park and Surrounding Communities Purchase Your Park Pass! Whether walking, bicycling, driving, or riding the fare-free Island Explorer through the park, all must pay the entrance fee. The Acadia National Park $20 weekly pass ($10 in the shoulder seasons) and $40 annual pass are available at the following locations in Maine: • HULLS COVE VISITOR CENTER (off Rte. 3 in Hulls Cove) • THOMPSON ISLAND INFORMATION STATION (Rte. 3 before crossing onto MDI) • SAND BEACH ENTRANCE STATION (on the Park Loop Road) • BLACKWOODS CAMPGROUND (off Rte. 3 in Otter Creek) • ACADIA NATIONAL PARK HEADQUARTERS (on the Eagle Lake Road/Rte. 233 in Bar Harbor) • SEAWALL CAMPGROUND (off Rte. 102A in Southwest Harbor) • JORDAN POND AND CADILLAC MTN. GIFT SHOPS • MOUNT DESERT CHAMBER OF COMMERCE • VILLAGE GREEN BUS CENTER (next to the Bar Harbor Village Green and Island Explorer transfer location) Your park pass purchase makes possible vital maintenance projects in Acadia. Tom Blagden Tom President’s Column INDESTRUCTIBLE INFLUENCES t our annual meeting this year, popular system. At this writing the Island Friends of Acadia honored several Explorer buses are still in operation, but Avolunteers and partners for their out- already we know they have broken rider- standing contributions. Our highest honor, ship records this summer. More than the Marianne Edwards Award, was given to 300,000 riders took the Island Explorer Dianna K. Emory, chairman of the Friends of this summer, a 7 percent increase over last Acadia board of directors from 2002–2007. year. You can learn more about the plans Dianna’s contributions to Friends and Acadia for the Acadia Gateway Center on page 11.
    [Show full text]
  • Harvard Barbarians” Catherine Schmitt University of Maine, [email protected]
    The University of Maine DigitalCommons@UMaine Maine Sea Grant Publications Maine Sea Grant 2014 Visionary Science of the “Harvard Barbarians” Catherine Schmitt University of Maine, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/seagrant_pub Part of the American Studies Commons, Life Sciences Commons, and the United States History Commons Repository Citation Schmitt, Catherine, "Visionary Science of the “Harvard Barbarians”" (2014). Maine Sea Grant Publications. 45. https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/seagrant_pub/45 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by DigitalCommons@UMaine. It has been accepted for inclusion in Maine Sea Grant Publications by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@UMaine. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Members of the Champlain Society pose for the camera in Cambridge, May 1881. Collection of the Mount Desert Island Historical Society Visionary Science of the “Harvard Barbarians” Catherine Schmitt It was the fifth of July, the year 1880. The forty-four-foot sloop Sunshine lay at anchor in Wasgatt Cove, where Hadlock Brook emptied into Somes Sound. On shore, in a field just north of Asa Smallidge’s house, eight young men were cutting the grass and setting up canvas tents. From the boat they unloaded shotguns and nets, fishing rods and glass bottles, small wooden 17 boxes and stacks of books and notepaper. They cut a sapling into a pole, and raised a red, white, and blue flag while cheering, “Yo-ho! Yo-ho! Yo-ho!” Over the next two months, the young men made daily excursions, on foot and by boat, around Mount Desert Island.
    [Show full text]
  • Fall 2006 Volume 11 No
    Fall 2006 Volume 11 No. 2 A Magazine about Acadia National Park and Surrounding Communities Purchase Your Park Pass! Whether walking, bicycling, driving, or riding the fare-free Island Explorer through the park, all must pay the entrance fee. The Acadia National Park $20 weekly pass ($10 in the shoulder seasons) and $40 annual pass are available at the following locations in Maine: • HULLS COVE VISITOR CENTER (off Rte. 3 in Hulls Cove) • THOMPSON ISLAND INFORMATION STATION (Rte. 3 before crossing onto MDI) • SAND BEACH ENTRANCE STATION (on the Park Loop Road) • BLACKWOODS CAMPGROUND (off Rte. 3 in Otter Creek) • ACADIA NATIONAL PARK HEADQUARTERS (on the Eagle Lake Road/Rte. 233 in Bar Harbor) • SEAWALL CAMPGROUND (off Rte. 102A in Southwest Harbor) • JORDAN POND AND CADILLAC MTN. GIFT SHOPS • MOUNT DESERT CHAMBER OF COMMERCE • VILLAGE GREEN BUS CENTER (next to the Bar Harbor Village Green and Island Explorer transfer location) Your park pass purchase makes possible vital maintenance projects in Acadia. Tom Blagden Tom President’s Column TWENTY YEARS AND COUNTING n glacial terms, two decades is an in- record of success that Friends achieved over finitesimally short period of time. By its first 20 years. If you imagine some of the Icomparison to the average human life possible scenarios of how Friends of Acadia span, 20 years is a respectable chunk of time, might have developed, or not, once formed, longer sadly than some lives, but rarely less what actually happened is—improbable. than about a quarter of a human life span. The remarkable successes that Friends has Simply put, we humans understand a 20- enjoyed over its first two decades were due year period of time.
    [Show full text]
  • Saving Schoodic: a Story of Development, Lost Settlement, and Preservation
    Maine History Volume 45 Number 2 Law and Order in Rural Maine Article 2 6-1-2010 Saving Schoodic: A Story of Development, Lost Settlement, and Preservation Alan K. Workman Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mainehistoryjournal Part of the Cultural History Commons, Demography, Population, and Ecology Commons, and the United States History Commons Recommended Citation Workman, Alan K.. "Saving Schoodic: A Story of Development, Lost Settlement, and Preservation." Maine History 45, 2 (2010): 96-122. https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mainehistoryjournal/vol45/iss2/ 2 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by DigitalCommons@UMaine. It has been accepted for inclusion in Maine History by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@UMaine. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Map 1. Schoodic Point, early 1800s. Labels in capitals identify owners or occu- pants of the first properties bought for development, mostly from William Bingham. Geographical features are in italics. Map by Thomas Mayer, Winter Harbor based on Hancock County Deeds, 1:224. SAVING SCHOODIC: A STORY OF DEVELOPMENT, LOST SETTLEMENT, AND PRESERVATION BY ALLEN K. WORKMAN Remote, isolated, and nearly barren Schoodic Point, now the eastern- most part of Acadia National Park, was long bypassed by early explorers and settlers. It might have seemed destined to remain deserted, a candi- date for coastal parkland preservation in the twentieth century. But like such distant outposts as Vinalhaven, Swan’s, and Ironbound islands, Sc- hoodic in the nineteenth century was overtaken by extensive land devel- opment, logging, and settlement by fishermen farmers.
    [Show full text]
  • Winter 2002/2003 Volume 7 No.3 Journal
    Friends of ACADIA Winter 2002/2003 Volume 7 No.3 Journal A Magazine of Acadia National Park and Surrounding Communities 4TH ANNUAL EARTH DAY ROADSIDE CLEAN-UP 2002 Earth Day volunteers on Route 3 Saturday, April 26, 2003 9:00 am – 12:00 pm Collect and bag trash from along Mount Desert Island and Trenton roadsides. Gain fame for collecting unique and voluminous trash. Think of the fun you’ll have outdoors on an early spring morning with your nearest and dearest, making your community better. (And there’ll be free t-shirts.) For more information, check our website at www.friendsofacadia.org/events.shtml or contact Marla at 207-288-3340. Friends of ACADIA This volunteer project is sponsored by Friends of Acadia, Acadia National Park, the Maine Department of Transportation, and local MDI businesses. President’s Column “A CRUCIAL POINT OR PLACE” W hen requesting donations, I try to minimize use of terms like “fragile ecosystem,” or claims that Acadia National Park is being “loved to death,” for example. Hackneyed expressions bore and insult the solicited. The phrase “environmental crossroads” occupies the same low denominator. Too many fundraising letters have inflated too many middling environmental transitions to the bloated status of a crossroads — once we pass through, things will get worse and never be the same. So I apologize for using the word now, but unfortunately it is factually warranted — the area has hit a crossroads, which the dictionary defines as “a crucial point or place.” The Mount Desert Island area is experiencing more than mere transition. The area is undergoing a transformation as significant as the park’s founding.
    [Show full text]