A wayside exhibit entitled "Creating Acadia" is positioned nearest the outside stairway of the observation deck.
The exhibit's title appears over a historic photograph of Seal Harbor Path Committee members, posing on the rocky shoreline of Jordan Pond in 1923.
Text explains: "Inspired to protect the beauty and diversity of Mount Desert Island from encroaching development, a passionate group of local and summer residents waged a campaign to conserve this landscape for public use. With varied backgrounds but a common foresight, these artists, naturalists, philanthropists, and others encouraged individuals to donate tracts, purchase lands, and seek federal protection. They succeeded in establishing the first national park east of the Mississippi River—one of the few created almost entirely of land donated to the federal government."
A caption identifies the committee members: Joseph Allen, Walter H. Buell, Fred D. Weeks, Professor C.H. Grandgent, William S. Turner, Thomas A. McIntire, and George B. Dorr, who became the first superintendent of the park.
Insets show two colorful historic postcards with scenes from the park. "Recognizing the island's French heritage, the park was named first for explorer Sieur de Monts in 1916, then for Revolutionary War General Lafayette in 1919, and finally Acadia — a historic name for this region — in 1929."
A quote: "Saved to future generations as it has been to us … in the wild primeval beauty … the spirit and mind of man will surely find an inspiration and a means of growth as essential as are fresh air and sunshine to the body." - George B. Dorr, known as Father of Acadia, in testimony to Congress promoting national park status for Acadia, 1916
