You are here

Creating Acadia National Park: The Biography Of George Bucknam Dorr

George Bucknam Dorr was born into a comfortable life, as he inherited sizeable fortunes from both sides of his family.

While he had the wherewithal to travel extensively about the world and do anything with his life, he came to cherish the landscape of Mount Desert Island along coastal Maine. It was a lifelong connection spurred by childhood vacations on the island, one that spawned a tireless, and selfless, campaign to both conserve the island’s landscape and, more importantly, see it included within the National Park System. 

Dorr’s role in seeing Sieur de Monts National Monument established in 1916, the same year the National Park Service was created, is dissected by Ronald H. Epp in Creating Acadia National Park, The Biography of George Bucknam Dorr, a book released this year as part of Acadia’s centennial celebration.

This, the first complete biography of George Dorr, not only looks at his upbringing and where he found his passion for nature, but also examines his role in seeing national park status bestowed on a large portion of Mount Desert Island. Mr. Epp’s extensive research also uncovered that Mr. Dorr, the first superintendent of the national park that was renamed Acadia in 1929, was something of a burr in the saddle of the National Park Service.

“For nearly a decade Dorr had done his best to work within the growing bureaucracy of the national park system,” writes the author. “Yet to many officials, he was judged as noncompliant. He did not wear the National Park Service uniform, his reports contained scholarly references and allusions that departed conspicuously from the brief informational reports sought by Washington bureaucrats, and the most troublesome matter continued to be his independent management of the park itself.”

Brought to life through the support and assistance of Friends of Acadia, this profile of the man known as the “Father of Acadia” should be on the reading list of all Acadia lovers.

Comments

Not only was George B. Dorr the "father of Acadia," he played a role in creating such other institutions as the Abbe Museum, the Jesup Memorial Library, the Mount Desert Island Biological and Jackson laboratories, as Ronald Epp's biography documents, and as we blogged about here: http://acadiaonmymind.com/2016/05/following-footsteps-george-dorr-father...

He did so much for so many, and our blog post highlights some ways to say thanks and pay respect in this year of the Acadia Centennial.

 


Add comment

The Essential RVing Guide

The Essential RVing Guide to the National Parks

The National Parks RVing Guide, aka the Essential RVing Guide To The National Parks, is the definitive guide for RVers seeking information on campgrounds in the National Park System where they can park their rigs. It's available for free for both iPhones and Android models.

This app is packed with RVing specific details on more than 250 campgrounds in more than 70 parks.

You'll also find stories about RVing in the parks, some tips if you've just recently turned into an RVer, and some planning suggestions. A bonus that wasn't in the previous eBook or PDF versions of this guide are feeds of Traveler content: you'll find our latest stories as well as our most recent podcasts just a click away.

So whether you have an iPhone or an Android, download this app and start exploring the campgrounds in the National Park System where you can park your rig.