Oldfarm 7: Dorr's Family Inheritance

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NPS Photo

Quick Facts

Location:

44.374181, -68.192896

Dorr's Family Inheritance

George B. Dorr came from a family of considerable wealth, with financial roots on both sides. His father, Charles Hazen Dorr, was a prosperous Boston merchant, while his mother, Mary Gray Ward Dorr, was the daughter of Thomas Wren Ward, who represented the influential London banking firm Baring Brothers. This wealth allowed the Dorr family to build their grand summer estate, Oldfarm, on Mount Desert Island and provided George with the means to pursue a life devoted to preserving the island’s natural beauty.

After his mother’s death in 1901, Dorr became increasingly concerned about the wave of development spreading across the island. Private landowners were beginning to block public access to scenic areas, threatening the landscapes that had long been open to walkers, artists, and nature lovers. 

In response, Dorr partnered with Harvard University President Charles Eliot and other like-minded residents to form the Hancock County Trustees of Public Reservations (HCTPR), an organization dedicated to protecting land for public use. Over the next twenty years, Dorr spent much of his personal fortune acquiring and conserving land, determined to keep the island’s most beautiful and ecologically significant areas open to all. 

His efforts became the foundation for Acadia National Park, ensuring that future generations could continue to enjoy the very landscapes he fought so hard to protect.

Duration:

1 minute, 11 seconds

Station Seven of the Oldfarm Video Tour