Univ. of Montara Library 189, The University of Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library M The University of Montana Montana Missoula, Montana 59812-1195 Phone: (406) 243-6800 FAX: (406) 243-2060 4067 August 21, 2003 Ronald Epp 47 Pond View Dr. Merrimack, NH 03054 Dear Mr. Epp, Here are the photocopies from the Joseph M. Dixon Papers that you requested via email on August 20, 2003. The photocopies are grouped together by the folders they were reproduced from in the collection. I have included the documentation information on the back of each set of copies for your convenience. You will find enclosed the materials regarding the opening ceremonies of the first motor road up Cadillac Mountain in Acadia National Park that I wrote to you about in an email. I have also enclosed copies of the cover of a publication called "Maine Highways," featuring the dedication exercises. The rest of the publication is not in the collection, but I thought you might find it useful anyway. I have also enclosed a copy of the work order. You will receive an official invoice from our billing department at a later date. Please pay when you receive this invoice. I hope the enclosed materials are a positive contribution to your research. If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to ask. Sincerely, Jennifer Rusk K. Ross Toole Archives (406)243-2053 email: archives@selway.umt.edu An Equal Opportunity University DIRIGO MAINE I HWAYS Vol. I Augusta, Maine, August 1932 No. 5 FEATURES In This Issue Page Cover: ACADIA NATIONAL PARK-Photo by Bradley PARTICIPATING IN DEDICATION 6 EDITORIAL 7 CADILLAC MOUNTAIN ROAD OFFERS TOP o' THE WORLD VIEW-By Grace M. Oakes 8 ACADIA-A BOYHOOD DREAM COME TRUE-By B. Morton Havey 11 ROAD BUILDING PROGRESS ILLUSTRATED IN NEW SCENIC HIGHWAY-By Wm. A. Grover 12 THE HIGHWAY PROGRAM-By Lucius D. Barrows 13 AN ALLAGASH ADVENTURE-By Frederick Robie 14 BRIDGE DEPARTMENT-By Max L. Wilder 15 YOUR UNCLE SAM HELPS-By R. M. Page 16 MONTHLY TOURS OF THE STATE-By Vico C. Isola 17 GOOD HIGHWAYS SAFELY BUILT-By Walter J. Bren- nan 19 ODD SHOTS-By Hildreth G. Hawes 21 CLIPPINGS 23 HIGHWAY CONSTRUCTION BULLETIN 28 RECENT LETTINGS 28 CARLTON BRIDGE SHOWS TRAFFIC INCREASE 33 BRIDGE CONSTRUCTION BULLETIN 33 PERSONNEL ACADIA NATIONAL PARK 34 Maine Highways is published each month under direction of the Maine State Highway Commission, State House, Augusta, Maine. Permission is granted to reprint any matter contained herein, if properly credited. Advertising rates furnished on request. Submitted material must be accompanied by adequate postage to insure return and all communications should be addressed to the Editor. This magazine is sent gratis to a limited list. Subscription rates, one dollar per annum; single copies, ten cents. Members of Maine State Highway Commission: Frank A. Peabody, Edward E. Farnsworth, Willis E. Swift. B. MORTON HAVEY, Editor. Participating In Dedication Exercises, Cadillac Mountain Road JOSEPH M. DIXON CHARLES FRANCIS ADAMS ADMIRAL WILLIAM V. PRATT First Assistant Secretary of the Secretary of the Name Chief of Navai Operations Interior Department of Navy WALLACE H. WHITE. JR. FREDERICK HALE United States Senator United States Senator NORMAN S. CASE JUDGE LUERE B. PEASY JOHN C. WINANT Governor of Rhode Island Master of Ceremonies Gorernor of New Hampshire THE WHITE HOUSE WASHINGTON July 16, 1932. My dear Mr. Secretary: At the dedication of the Cadillac Mountain Road, Acadia National Park, on July 23rd, I will be obliged if you will express my cordial greetings to those present and my hearty congratulations to the people of Maine upon the completion of this highway, which adds a new opportunity for visitors to see more of the scenic wonders of their State. Yours faithfully, / Hon. Joseph M. Dixon, First Assistant Secretary of the Interior, Washington, D. C. (1232) SUGGESTED DRAFT FOR ASSISTANT SECRETARY DIXON'S TALK AT ACADIA NATIONAL PARK ON JULY 23. When plans for the dedication of the Cadillac Mountain Road were first considered, it was my understanding that the Secretary of the Interior would His be present and take an active part in the ceremonies. Instead of Wilbur made his visit to Acadia National Park more. than a month ago. the, time, I was at a loss to understand the procedure, but now that I have made my first visit to the park to represent the Secretary on this occasion, the matter is entirely clear. (Dr. Wilbur began to hear so much about this park that he just could not wait until July 23 to get here and see it for himself: I em glad he couldn't, because otherwise I might have missed an op-. portunity to visit one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. I come from the State of Montana, where Glacier "National Park and part ago. dedicated of Yellowstone are located. I have also visited many of the other great western parks so I have a good basis for comparison, and I believe that you have here the most unique member of the national park system that I have Could seen. For one thing, it is the first national park to have been established east of the Mississippi River and it is the only national park in the system which is entirely the gift of private citizens to the people of the Nation. This latter fact is of itself amazing. It is a great tribute to the far- sighted unselfishness of human beings. Here is an extraordinarily beautiful region only a short distance from several of our largest cities with every comfort and convenience of modern-day living within easy reach, and yet in the midst of all this beauty and ease there have been those who so earnestly de- sired to share the benefits of this beautiful region with all who might care to come here, that a fine national park has been the result. Not only is Acadia Suggested Draft - Sec'y. Dixon - Acadia. -- 2 National Park the result of this unusual highmindedness on the part of a group of individuals, but it is also the result of years of painstaking work to initiate and secure the passage of legislation to properly protect and develop their great gift to the Government for the people of the Nation. It is an outstanding achievement when a group of people hold to such a fine ideal through a welter of civic complications and legal technical- ities and bring it to the splendid climax that this park represents. It is true, of course, that all the other national parks of the United States owe their existence to the personal interest of groups of people, but no other park has the heritage of individual generosity that this park has. Acadia National Park also has the unique distinction of being the only member of the system in the United States proper with an ocean boundary. If the proposed Cape Sable Everglades region in Florida becomes a national park, this exclusive distinction will be taken away from Acadia but actually it will make no difference because the two regions are so entirely different. No where else on our portion of the Atlantic Coast will you find granite mountains rearing their heads almost directly out of the sea. The magnificent ocean fiord which nearly bisects Mount Desert Island is the only one to be found on any coastal boundary of the United States outside of Alaska. When Secretary Wilbur turned to Washington after his visit to Acadia he spoke enthusiastically of the popularity which he believes this national park enjoy in the future, and the short time that I have been here, convinces me that his prophecy was not an idle one Until recently the people of the East have not been national-park conscious in the manner that we in Suggested Draft Sec'y. Dixon -- Acadia -- 3 the West are. With the exception of this park, there were none east of the Mississippi River. But, in a very quiet and gradual way, this situation has changed almost entirely in the last few years; I might even say in the past two years. Back in 1925 or thereabouts, when Congress had more time for such things, it authorized the establishment of several national parks in the East with the idea of extending the Nation's great system of national parks to include some of the wonder areas of the East, and to bring the benefits of the system within easier reach of a densely populated section of the country. One area designated by Congress for a park at that time was a part of Virginia's famous Blue Ridge Mountains to be known as the Shenandoah National Park. Another was in the heart of the Great Smoky Mountains where that lofty range of the Southern Appalachians ploughs its rugged way through the States of North Carolina and Tennessee. Still another park was to be the area well known for more than a century as the Mammoth Caves of Kentucky. Michigan's famous Isle Royale up near the Canadian border in Lake Superior was a fourth area to be designated by Congress for national-park status. All in all, it was an imposing list of national parks for the eastern section of the United States that Congress authorized at that time and there was stir over it. However, though the proper authorization from Congress is an important matter to any proposed national park, it is not everything. It takes a long time to make a going concern of a park, even of the western ones where the land for them has usually been set aside from the public domain. In the East, where the land has to be secured from private holdings, it takes even longer. Suggested Draft -- Sec'y. Dixon -- Acadia 4 Time went by; nothing particularly spectacular happened after the news of the Congressional authorizations died down. I suppose that the majority of people, if they thought about it at all, thought that they had read somewhere about a national park in this or that place but that they must have been mistaken, and forgot the matter entirely. Then, about the time this road to the top of Cadillac Mountain was completed and more people than ever began to hear about Acadia National Park, members of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park Commission went to Washington and tendered to Secretary Wilbur the deeds to enough of the land designated by Congress for that park to enable us to go forward with certain plans for the development work there. They had given us the deeds to more than 150,000 acres some time before and the second lot made about 300,000 acres in all. A superintendent and some rangers had been installed in the new park and the public woke up to find that at last North Carolina and Tennessee had a national park. In Virginia the actual creation of the Shenandoah Park had not gone forward so rapidly and at the present time that park is still in the authorization status, but something else had happened. The 150th anniversary of the Battle of Yorktown and the 200th anniversary of the birth of George Washington were approaching. Congress authorized the establish- ment of the George Washington Birthplace National Monument at Wakefield, Virginia, about 100 miles from Washington, and it also authorized the establish- ment of the Colonial National Monument to be composed of certain parts of three of Virginia's famous historic places-- Jamestown Island, the little village of Yorktown where Cornwallis surrendered to General Washington, and Williamsburg, Virginia's famous Colonial capital. At both of the latter places, some of the oldest and most interesting houses in America are still standing. Here on Suggested Draft Sec'y. Dixon -- Acadia -- 5 Mount Desert Island you know all about Mr. John D. Rockefeller's generosity where worthy civic undertakings are concerned. Down in Virginia they are rapidly learning about it. When he is through his great restoration project at Williamsburg, that picturesque and historically rich town will appear much as it did in the days when Thomas Jefferson went there as a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses. Mr. Rockefeller also purchased several hundred acres of the original Washington family estate at Wakefield to round out that already owned by the Association which initiated the restoration of Washington's birthplace and made it into a beautiful national shrine now visited by thousands each month. Wakefield was formally turned over to the Department of the Interior a few months ago and is now entrusted to the care of the National Park Service, which played an important part in its rehabilita- tion. The Sesquicentennial celebration at Yorktown last fall focused national attention on the Colonial National Monument almost overnight, and the Bicentennial celebration turned the spotlight on Wakefield shortly afterwards. Thousands of people were already going into the Great Smokies region. All at once, Eastern people who had never heard of the National Park Service except in a vague way began to take an interest in what it was doing. The superintend- ent of the Great Smokies says his trouble is not to get people in the park but to keep them out until he can get the proper administration facilities set up. Before long Isle Royale, Shenandoah, and Mammoth Cave will undoubtedly be full-fledged national parks. Perhaps the Everglades will follow. There is a strong public sentiment in favor of placing this world-famous region, with its vastly interesting plant and animal life forever beyond the possibility of Suggested Draft -- Sec'y. Dixon -- Acadia -- 6 exploitation. Some of the rare animals and birds in the region are now facing extinction. When all this is done, and much of the groundwork for it is already laid, the East will be able to boast of a chain of national parks and monuments as beautiful and as interesting as that now encompassed in the great Western Park-to-Park Highway which is the boast of every citizen of the (West. Already the nucleus of a great Eastern Park-to-Park Highway has been officially designated and when it is finally worked out, Acadia National Park will be one of the best loved parks on the route. When the people of the densely populated eastern section of this country become fully national-park conscious as we now are in the West, people in search of peace, of tranquillity will come to Acadia National Park in great numbers. There is something about the sea that clears tired heads and unravels exhausted nerves. The beauty that they drink in from the magnificent scenery spread before them through the medium of the Cadillac Mountain road will bring visitors back year after year, and make Acadia National Park on the coast of Maine famous the world over. See amount First- Bronge memorial to Supt. born # # # SUGGESTED DRAFT FOR ASSISTANT SECRETARY DIXON'S TALK AT ACADIA NATIONAL PARK ON JULY 23. When plans for the dedication of the Cadillac Mountain Road were first considered, it was my understanding that the Secretary of the Interior would be present and take an active part in the ceremonies. Instead of that, Dr. Wilbur made his visit to Acadia National Park more than a month ago. At the time, I was at a loss to understand the procedure, but now that I have made my first visit to the park to represent the Secretary on this occasion, the matter is entirely clear. Dr. Wilbur began to hear SO much about this park that he just could not wait until July 23 to get here and see it for himself. I am glad he couldn't, because otherwise I might have missed an opportunity to visit one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. I come from the State of Montana, where Glacier, National Park and part of Yellowstone are located. I have also visited many of the other great western parks so I have a good basis for comparison, and I believe that you have here the most unique member of the National Park system that I have seen. For one thing, it is the first national park to have been established east of the Mississippi River and it is the only national park in the system which is entirely the gift of private citizens to the people of the Nation. This latter fact is of itself amazing, a tribute to the far-sighted unselfish- ness of human beings. Here is an extraordinarily beautiful region only a short distance fromseveral of our largest cities with every comfort and convenience of modern-day living within easy reach, and yet in the midst of all this beauty and ease there have been those who so earnestly desired to share the benefits of this beautiful region with all who might care to come here, that a fine national park has been the result. Not only is Acadia Suggested Draft - Sec'y Dixon - Acadia -- 2 National Park the result of this unusual highmindedness on the part of a group of individuals, but it is also the result of years of painstaking work to initiate and secure the passage of legislation to properly protect and develop their great gift to the Government for the people of the Nation. It is an outstanding achievement when a group of people hold to such a fine ideal through a welter of civic complications and legal technical- ities and bring it to the splendid climax that this park represents. It is true, of course, that all the other national parks of the United States owe their existence to the personal interest of groups of people, but no other park has the heritage of individual generosity that this park has. Acadia National Park also has the unique distinction of being the only member of the system in the United States proper with an ocean boundary. If the proposed Cape Sable Everglades region in Florida becomes a national park this exclusive distinction will be taken away from Acadia but actually it will make no difference because the two regions are SO entirely different. No where else on our portion of the Atlantic Coast will you find granite mountains rearing their heads almost directly out of the sea. The magnificent ocean fiord which nearly bisects Mount Desert Island is the only one to be found on any coastal boundary of the United States outside of Alaska. When Secretary Wilbur returned to Washington after his visit to Acadia he spoke enthusiastically of the popularity which he believes this National park will enjoy in the future, and the short time that I have been here convinces me that his prophecy was not an idle one. Until recently the people of the East have not been national-park conscious in the manner that we in Suggested Draft - Sec'y Dixon - Acadia - 3 the West are. With the exception of this park, there were none east of the Mississippi River. But, in a very quiet and gradual way, this situation has changed almost entirely in the last few years; I might even say in the past two years. Back in 1925 or thereabouts, when Congress had more time for such things, it authorized the establishment of several national parks in the East with the idea of extending the Nation's great system of national parks to include some of the wonder areas of the East, and to bring the benefits of the system within easier reach of a densely populated section of the country. One area designated by Congress for a park at that time was a part of Virginia's famous Blue Ridge Mountains to be known as the Shenandoah National Park. Another was in the heart of the Great Smoky Mountains where that lofty range of the Southern Appalachians ploughs its rugged way through the States of North Carolina and Tennessee. Still another park was to be the area well known for more than a century as the Marmoth Caves of Kentucky. Michigan's famous Isle Royale up near the Canadian border in Lake Superior was a fourth area to be designated by Congress for national-park status. All in all, it was an imposing list of national parks for the eastern section of the United States that Congress authorized at that time and there was quite a stir over it. However, though the proper authorization from Congress is an important matter to any proposed national park, it is not everything. It takes a long time to make a going concern of a park, even of the western ones where the land for them has usually been set aside from the public domain. In the East, where the land has to be secured from private holdings, it takes even longer. Suggested Draft -- Sec'y. Dixon -- Acadia -- 4 Time went by; nothing particularly spectacular happened after the news of the Congressional authorization died down. I suppose that the majority of people, if they thought about it at all, thought that they had read somewhere about a national park in this or that place but that they must have been mistaken, and forgot the matter entirely. Then, about the time this road to the top of Cadillac Mountain was completed and more people than ever began to hear about Acadia National Park, members of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park Commission went to Washington and tendered to Secretary Wilbur the deeds to enough of the land designated by Congress for that park to enable us to go forward with certain plans for the development work there. They had given us the deeds to more than 150,000 acres some time before and the second lot made about 300,000 acres in all. A superintendent and some rangers had been installed in the new park and the public woke up to find that at last North Carolina and Tennessee had a national park. In Virginia the actual creation of the Shenandoah Park had not gone forward so rapidly and at the present time that park is still in the authorization status, but something else had happened. The 150th anniversary of the Battle of Yorktown and the 200th anniversary of the birth of George Washington were approaching. Congress authorized the establish- ment of the George Washington Birthplace National Monument at Wakefield, Virginia, about 100 miles from Washington, and it also authorized the establish- ment of the Colonial National Monument to be composed of certain parts of three of Virginia's famous historic places Jamestown Island, the little village Yorktown where Cornwallis surrendered to General Washington, and Williamsburg, Virginia's famous Colonial capital. At both of the latter places, some of the oldest and most interesting houses in America are still standing. Here on Suggested Draft -- Sec'y. Dixon -- Acadia -- 5 Mount Desert Island you know all about Mr. John D. Rockefeller's generosity where worthy civic undertakings are concerned. Down in Virginia they are rapidly learning about it. When he is through his great restoration project at Williamsburg, that picturesque and historically rich town will appear much as it did in the days when Thomas Jefferson went there as a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses. Mr. Rockefeller also purchased several hundred acres of the original Washington family estate at Wakefield to round out that already owned by the Association which initiated the restoration of Washington's birthplace and made it into a beautiful national shrine now visited by thousands each month. Wakefield was formally turned over to the Dep artment of the Interior a few months ago and is now entrusted to the care of the National Park Service, which played an important part in its rehabilita- tion. The Sesquicentennial celebration at Yorktown last fall focused national attention on the Colonial National Monument almost overnight, and the Bicentennial celebration turned the spotlight on Wakefield shortly afterwards. Thousands of people were already going into the Great Smokies region. All at once, Eastern people who had never heard of the National Park Service except in a vague way began to take an interest in what it was doing. The superintend- ent of the Great Smokies says his trouble is not to get people in the park but to keep them out until he can get the proper administration facilities set up. Before long Isle Royale, Shenandoah, and Mammoth Cave will undoubtedly be full-fledged national parks. Perhaps the Everglades will follow. There is a strong public sentiment in favor of placing this world-famous region, with its vastly interesting plant and animal life forever beyond the possibility of Suggested Draft -- Sec'y. Dixon -- Acadia -- 6 exploitation. Some of the rare animals and birds in the region are now facing extinction. When all this is done, and much of the groundwork for it is already laid, the East will be able to boast of a chain of national parks and monuments as beautiful and as interesting as that now encompassed in the great Western Park-toPark Highway which is the boast of every citizen of the West. Already the nucleus of a great Eastern Park-to-Park Highway has been officially designated and when it is finally worked out, Acadia National Park will be one of the best loved parks on the route. When the people of the densely populated eastern section of this country become fully national-park conscious as we now are in the West, people in search of peace, of tranquillity will come to Acadia National Park in great numbers. There is something about the sea that clears tired heads and unravels exhausted nerves. The beauty that they drink in from the magnificent scenery spread before them through the medium of the Cadillac Mountain road will bring visitors back year after year, and make Acadia National Park on the coast of Maine famous the world over. # # # ESP: mbg: 7/8/32 Collection Name Joseph M. Dixon Papers Collection Number LC 55 COPIED FROM ORIGINAL IN Series Number (no series available) UNIVERSITY OF MONTANA LIBRARY Box Number 103 NOT TO BE REPRODUCED WITHOUT Folder Number 2 THE PERMISSION OF THE LIBRARY K. Ross Toole Archives, Mansfield Library The University of Montana - Missoula THE SECRETARY OF THE NAVY, WASHINGTON. July 14, 1932. My dear Mr. Dixon: I have just returned to find that I must be with you to help dedicate a Mountain Road on July 23rd. As I am expected to say a word, I ought to find out what it is all about. . Will you be SO kind as to tell me where the road begins, and where it ends; whose idea it was, and what its purpose is? I shall only say a few words, but I would like to keep off your ground, and yet have some notion of what I am talking about and what I ought to say. Any words of help will be much appreciated. Very sincerely yours, Mr. Joseph M. Dixon, First Asst. Secretary, Department of the Interior, Washington, D.C. THE SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR PilT WASHINGTON Story The Honorable, The Secretary of the Navy. My dear Mr. Secretary: I have your letter of July 14, and am delighted to know that you are going to be with us to help dedicate the Cadillac Mountain road in Acadis National Park on July 23. The road begins at the base of Cadillac Mountain and ends at its summit. I hope the enclosed photographs will give you at least an idea of where it is and what it looks like. The roadway is only about three and a half miles long, but it is an outstanding engineer- ing and landscape achievement. Begun in 1929, about 90 per cent of it has been constructed through rock, and it was built to provide the best scenic vantage point for viewing the natural beauty of Mount Desert Island and its surroundings. Senator Frederick Hale will also be with us, and I think he has planned to talk specifically about the roadway. The notes I have prepared are confined to the park and its relation to the national-park program for the East which is at major project of the National Park Service at present. For your possible convenience, I am enclosing a memorandum which I thought might be of slight use to you, and also a copy of the De- partment's Circular of Information for Acadia National Park. If there is any other way in which I may be of service please let me know. I shall look forward to seeing you at Bar Harbor. Very sincerely yours, ESP Inclosure 146352 2 SUGGESTIONS FOR SECRETARY ADAMS'S TALK AT THE DEDICATION OF THE CADILLAC MOUNTAIN ROAD, ACADIA NATIONAL PARK Surely today must be a very happy one for George B. Dorr and the noble group of men and women who have supported him in his long struggle to preserve for public use and enjoyment some of the choicest beauty of Mount Desert Island. No more fitting climex Inst. ill to their work could possibly be devised than the Cadillac Mountain Cabeline roadway. It is the perfect medium for unfolding the sublime beauty of this famous region. With such a magnificent vantage to point, it will be impossible for any visitor, no matter how phlegmatic his temperament, to leave Acadia National Park without Coris, being stirred to the depths of his consciousness by the natural beauty end historic significance of his surroundings. This roadway will make it possible for thousands of persons who might otherwise be prevented by physical handicaps or time limitations over which they had no control, to secure within an emazingly short time a panoramic picture of the island in its beautiful setting which is astounding. Nature gas provided a rare pageant of scenery, history has added a fascinating glamor of human interest, and this roadway provides a royal reviewing stand at the highest point on the Atlantic Coast from which to enjoy it. About a quarter of a century ago, when Mr. Dorr, inspired by the gift of the beautiful elevation known as the Beehive, decided not to wai t for gifts for the noble conservation project which he Suggestions for See'y. Adams's talk - Cadillac Mountain Road -- Acadia-2 and his fellow citizen of Massachusetts, President Eliot of Harvard, had put on a definite basis several years earlier by the forming of a corporation known as the Hancock County Trustees of Public Reservations, but to go out and get them, his first achievement was the gift of a 100 acres on the summit of Cadillac Mountain. His foresight in securing the strategic seenic point of what is now a distinguished unit of our great national park system wins admiration even from a Navy man. His wisdom in selecting this nucleus, coupled with a steadfast purpose in bringing it to its fullest development, has culminated in a great scenic achievement which will bring lovers of natural beauty here from all quarters of the earth. I think there are now twenty-two great national parks, reserva- tions of outstanding beauty and natural interest where the citizens of our country may go for the spiritual and physical renewal that comes only from life in the out-of-doors. There are parks of special interest to geologists like Grand Canyon; there are parks of prime interest to lovers of spectacular sylvan beauty such as Yosemite; there is Yellowstone, the paradise of the student of natural sciences, and on down the list with something of special interest for every outdoor citizen. I like to think of Acadia National Park, in which the people of Massachusetts have a great interest and to the establish- ment of which some of them have contributed handsomely, as a park especially for followers of the sea. I like to think that the only national park in continental United States which offers the pleasures of life near the ocean is in New England. I have navigated the waters can of the New England Coast since boyhood days, and if we have only one Suggestions for Sec'y. Adams's talk--Cedillac Mountain Road--Acadia - 3 national park with a coastal boundary, I can think of no more fitting place for it than this island off the Coast of Maine which was discovered by one of history's greatest sailors, Samuel Champlain, in 1604, a good mary years before the Pilgrim Fathers landed at Plymouth. The work of creating a national park in the West, where they have been, for the most part, set aside from the public domain by Congressional action, was comparatively simple compared with the task of creating a park such as this one where the lands desired for it were private holdings. As a resident of Massachusetts, I proudly congratulate Mr. Dorr and his associates on their unique achievement and the splendid manner in which they have carried forward, at great personal sacrifice, its development for perpetual public use. The Cadillac Mountain Roadway is a magnificent with testimonial of the wisdom/which they have wrought. # # # # # ESP mbg: 7/18/32 THE SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR WASHINGTON The Honorable, The Secretary of the Navy. My dear Mr. Secretary: I have your letter of July 14, and am delighted to know that you are going to be with us to help dedicate the Carlillae Mountain road in Aondia National Park on July 23. The road begins at the base of Cadillac Mountain end ends at its summit. I hope the enclosed photographs will give you at least an idea of where it is and what it looks like. The roadway is only about three and a half miles long, but it is an outstanding engineer- ing and landscape achievement. Begun in 1989, about 90 per cent of it has been constructed through rock, and it was built to provide the best scenic vantage point for viewing the natural beauty of Mount Desert Island and its surroundings. Senator Frederick Hale will also be with us, and I think he has planned to talk specifically about the roadway. The notes I have prepared are confined to the park and its relation to the national-park program for the East which is as major project of the National Park Service at present. For your possible convenience, I are enclosing a memorandum which I thought might be of slight use to you, and also a copy of the De- partment's Circular of Information for Acadia National Park. If 1st Ber yours, very I shall 146352 THE SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR WASHINGTON P.IT Story The Honorable, extension The Secretary of the Navy. My dear Mr. Secretary: I have your letter of July 14, and em delighted to know that you are going to be with us to help dedicate the Cadillac Mountain road in Acadia National Park on July 23. The road begins at the base of Cadillac Mountain and ends at its summit. I hope the enclosed photographs will give you at least an idea of where it is and what it looks like. The roadway is only about three and a half miles long, but it is an outstanding engineer- ing and landscape achievement. Begun in 1929, about 90 per cent of it has been constructed through rock, and it was built to provide the best scenic vantage point for viewing the natural beauty of Mount Desert Island and its surroundings. Senator Frederick Hale will also be with us, and I think he has planned to talk specifically about the roadway. The notes I have prepared are confined to the park and its relation to the national-park program for the East shich is a major project of the National Park Service at present. For your possible convenience, I am enclosing a memorandum which I thought might be of slight use to you, and also a copy of the De- partment's Circular of Information for Acadis National Park. If let may know. shall forward seeing you at Very Bar sincerely Harbor. yours, I inclosure 14 146352 2 SUGGESTIONS FOR SECRETARY ADAMS'S TALK AT THE DEDICATION OF THE CADILLAC MOUNTAIN ROAD, ACADIA NATIONAL PARK [ Surely today must be a very happy one for George B. Dorr and the noble group of men and women who have supported him in his long struggle to preserve for public use and enjoyment same of the choicest beauty of Mount Desert Island. No more fitting climex to their work could possibly be devised than the Cadillac Mountain roadway. It is the perfect medium for unfolding the sublime beauty of this famous region. With such a megnificent vantage point, it will be impossible for any visitor, no matter how phlegmatic his temperament, to leave Acadia National Park without being stirred to the depths of his consciousness by the natural beauty end historic significance of his surroundings. This roadway will make it possible for thousands of persons who might otherwise be prevented by physical handicaps or time limitations over which they had no control, to secure within an amazingly short time a panoremic picture of the island in its beautiful setting which is astounding. Nature has provided a rare pageant of seenery, history has added a fascinating glamor of human interest, and this roadway provides a royal reviewing stand at the highest point on the Atlantic Coast from which to enjoy it. About a quarter of a century ago, when Mr. Dorr, inspired by the gift of the beautiful elevation known as the Beehive, decided not to wai t for gifts for the noble conservation project which he Suggestions for see'y. Adams's talk - Cadillac Mountain Road -- Acadia-2 and his fellow citizen of Massachusetts, President Eliot of Harvard, had put on a definite basis several years earlier by the forming of a corporation known as the Hancock County Trustees of Public Reservations, but to go out and get them, his first achievement was the gift of a 100 acres on the summit of Cadillac Mountain. His foresight in securing the strategic seenic point of what is now a distinguished unit of our great national park system wins admiration even from a Nevy men. His wisdom in selecting this nucleus, coupled with a steadfast purpose in bringing it to its fullest development, has culminated in a great scenic achievement which will bring lovers of natural beauty here from all quarters of the earth. I think there are now twenty-two great national parks, reserve- tions of outstanding beauty and natural interest where the citizens of our country may go for the spiritual and physical renewal that comes only from life in the out-of-doors. There are parks of special interest to geologists like Grand Canyon; there are parks of prime interest to lovers of spectacular sylvan beauty such as Yosemite; there is Yellowstone, the peradise of the student of natural sciences, and on down the list with something of special interest for every outdoor citizen. I like to think of Acadia National Park, in which the people of Massachusetts have a great interest and to the establish- ment of which some of them have contributed handsomely, as a park especially for followers of the sea. I like to think that the only national park in continental United States which offers the pleasures of life near the ocean is in New England. I have navigated the waters can of the New England Coast since boyhood days, and if we/have only one Suggestions for See'y. Adams's talk-Cadillac Mountain Road --Acadis - 3 national park with a coastal boundary, I can think of no more fitting place for it than this island off the Coast of Maine which was discovered by one of history's greatest sailors, Samuel Champlain, in 1604, a good many years before the Pilgrim Fathers landed at Plymouth. The work of creating a national park in the West, where they have been, for the most part, set aside from the public domain by Congressional action, was comparatively simple compared with the task of creating a park such as this one where the lands desired for it were private holdings. As a resident of Massachusetts, I proudly congratulate Mr. Dorr and his associates on their unique achievement and the splendid manner in which they have carried forward, at great personal sacrifice, its development for perpetual public use. the Cadillac Mountain Roadway is a magnificent with testimonial of the wisdom/which they have wrought. # # # # # E3Pmmgg 7/18/32 THE WHITE HOUSE WASHINGTON July 16, 1932. My dear Mr. Secretary: At the dedication of the Cadillac Mountain Road, Acadia National Park, on express July my 23rd, if I will be obliged you will cordial greetings to those present and my hearty congratulations to the people of Maine upon the completion of this highway, which adds a new opportunity for visitors to see more of the scenic wonders of their State. Yours faithfully, / Hon. Joseph M. Dixon, First Assistant Secretary of the Interior, Washington, D. C. Collection Name Joseph M. Dixon Papers Collection Number LC 55 COPIED FROM ORIGINAL IN Series Number (No senes available) UNIVERSITY OF MONTANA LIBRARY Box Number 67 NOT TO BE REPRODUCED WITHOUT Folder Number 13 THE PERMISSION OF THE LIBRARY K. Ross Toole Archives, Mansfield Library The University of Montana - Missoula -