Many individuals played a role in preserving the landscape of Acadia in the early 1900s. Charles W. Eliot, president emeritus of Harvard University, proposed that the local Village Improvement Societies create an organization to set aside special lands. With Charles W. Eliot’s blessing, George B. Dorr pursued national park status, and in 1916, presented 5,000 acres to the American people in the form of a national monument. Also during this time the philanthropic efforts of John D. Rockefeller, Jr. lead to forty-five miles of carriage roads being built in Acadia between 1913 and 1940. View the images of Eliot, Dorr, Rockefeller, and others in this photo gallery of Acadia's founders.