George Dorr

Acadia National Park - 2016

George Dorr is often called “The Father of Acadia National Park.” and for good reason. Born a wealthy heir to a textile fortune, he would spend most of his life and fortune dedicated to the founding, protection, and growth of the land surrounding Mount Desert Island. This land would eventually be established as Acadia National Park, the easternmost national park in the United States of America.

Born in 1853, Dorr lived in a time when conservation was not on America’s mind. My hometown in Pottsville, Pennsylvania had turned 50 years old in 1853 and it was already a land of industry. Anthracite coal- “Black gold” as it was called, was mined from deep in the earth. Our hills were deforested, our streams ran red with coal and iron debris. The destruction of our land can still be seen today, some 100 years after the last mine had finally closed.

Thanks to George Dorr and many forward thinking folks like him, Acadia never suffered the same fate. The ocean is blue, the harbor is crystal clear and filled with an abundance of the fish and crustaceans. Curious seals approach the welcome kayaker, and eagles soar overhead.