Samuel de Champlain
During the summer and early fall of 1604, Champlain ventured along the mid-Maine coast as far as Georges River. He named the islands of Mount Desert and Isle au Haut.
Wabanaki
Nearly 500 years ago, Wabanakis spotted the first European sailing ships cruising along their seacoast. The Wabanaki or People of the Dawnland had lived in Maine for thousands of years, successfully surviving as migratory hunters, fishers, and gatherers.
John D. Rockefeller, Jr.
A great philanthropist and lover of the island, John D. Rockefeller had the foresight to recognize that traffic could potentially mar a place as beautiful as Mount Desert Island, and that there should be an alternative route of transportation for visitors: the carriage roads.
George B. Dorr
Known as the father of Acadia National Park, George B. Dorr spent most of his adult life bringing the park into being, caring for the park, and expanding it. It was Dorr’s vision and passion that ensured these lands would be set aside for preservation and protection for future generations.
The Rusticators
The first summer visitors who came Down East to Mount Desert Island beginning in the 1840s, because of their appreciation for a vacationing ‘rustic’ lifestyle, became known as the Rusticators.