Atwater Kent Memorial Plaque

Atwater Kent Memorial Plaque

NPS Photo/D. Warner

Quick Facts

Location:

Schooner Head Path

Significance:

Memorial plaque dedicated to Atwater Kent

Amenities

1 listed

Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits

 This plaque commemorates the 1946 donation of the 62-acre Atwater Kent Field adjacent to Schooner Head Road by the Atwater Kent Foundation. The area, once known as Bliss Field is now designated as Atwater Kent Field. Kent was probably most well known for the establishment of the country’s biggest radio manufacturing business. His estate in Bar Harbor, Sonogee, survived the Fire of 1947 and until recently operated as a nursing home.

A memorial plaque dedicated to him can be found off of the Schooner Head Path. The inscription reads as follows: 

ATWATER KENT FIELD
OF APPROXIMATELY 62 ACRES
WAS DONATED IN 1946 BY THE
ATWATER KENT FOUNDATION
TO THE UNITED STATES OF
AMERICA
AS A PART OF
ACADIA NATIONAL PARK

About Atwater Kent

Atwater Kent was born in Vermont in 1873 and was married to Mabel Lucas Kent. He attended Worcester Polytechnic Institute (Worcester, MA) but dropped out in 1896 before graduating and went on to forge a successful career developing numerous mechanical inventions. He is most famous for patenting the modern form of induction ignition coil in 1921. As a noted inventor and radio pioneer he became a resident of Philadelphia, creating the successful Atwater Kent Manufacturing Company and eventually donated the funds for the Atwater Kent Museum of Philadelphia. Atwater Kent died in 1949 but his generous art legacy survives today, as well as the non-profit philanthropic foundation that carries his name.