Preserving and protecting those things you hold dear is a wise investment, and the easiest way to leave a legacy for the benefit of Acadia National Park is to include Friends of Acadia in your estate plans.

The George B. Dorr Society for Planned and Estate Gifts was established in 2005 to recognize those members and friends who have documented provisions for Friends of Acadia in their estate plans. The Dorr Society honors George Bucknam Dorr, gentleman, scholar, and lover of nature, whose dedication to preserving Mount Desert Island helped create Acadia National Park.

Each year, Dorr Society members gather for a special appreciation event.

If you have made provisions for Friends of Acadia in your estate plans or would like information about joining the George B. Dorr Society, please contact us here.

Joan Grant gives a presentation about the Carroll Homestead at the George B. Dorr Society Event hosted at the Terramor Outdoor Resort in Bar Harbor, Maine. (Rhiannon Johnston/Friends of Acadia)

In 1916 a sprig of wild blueberries first appeared on the title page of a new series of articles publicizing the establishment of the Sieur de Monts National Monument. Of the 23 projected articles that George B. Dorr planned for the Sieur de Monts Publications, 10 of the 19 extant publications are illustrated on the title page with Dorr’s photograph of the favored fruit of Mainers.

The long-neglected articles cover the flora and fauna of not only Mount Desert Island, but also comparatively less hospitable climates in the southwestern United States. While Dorr authored many of the pamphlets, other contributors included Charles W. Eliot, L.B. Deasy, Rev. William Lawrence, Henry Lane Eno, Francis Parkman, Edward Rand, and Joshua Chamberlain. Published from 1916 through 1919 by the U.S. Interior Department and the Wild Gardens of Acadia, thousands of copies of each number were distributed for free to the public at large.

No historical document survives relating Dorr’s rationale for selecting Maine’s state fruit (Vaccinium angustifolium). As a horticulturist he was surely attracted to this indigenous plant because of its historic associations, agricultural heritage, and   commercial value. It is quite likely that Dorr’s choice was driven by Mainers’ regard for this attractive wild fruit as a distinctive public asset. Much like the landscapes that he would struggle to make available to them over the remaining three decades of his life.

– Ronald H. Epp, June 4, 2019

Dorr on the Beachcroft Path at Huguenot Head in the first part of the 20th century. (NPS archive photo)