A still ridgeline at Baxter. Forever kept in the natural wild state.
Photograph: Knowlton, courtesy Baxter State Park.
A wilderness sanctuary, held in trust for the people of Maine.
The park began as one man’s magnificent obsession. It continues as a public trust, self-funded, independently governed, and quietly uncompromising about what it is.
A founding idea, still governing.
Between 1930 and 1962, Percival P. Baxter purchased parcel after parcel of land in northern Maine (some of it ridgeline and summit, some of it bog and brook) and deeded it all to the State of Maine under the condition that it “shall forever be kept and remain in the natural wild state.”
To ensure the park would not depend on the moods of state appropriations, Baxter also established a trust of nearly seven million dollars. The interest supports day-to-day keeping of the park; fees, shop revenue, and donations cover the rest.
Baxter stipulated that governance would rest with three Maine officials: the Attorney General, the Commissioner of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, and the Director of the Maine Forest Service. Those three still make up the Park Authority today. The park is administered separately from the larger State Park system.
Percival Proctor Baxter, 53rd Governor of Maine
Served 1921 to 1924. Deeded his first 6,000 acres to the State in 1931.
Percival P.
Baxter.
Percival P. Baxter served as Maine's 53rd governor before making it his life's 'magnificent obsession' to assemble this wilderness sanctuary, parcel by parcel, over more than three decades, and to deed it back to the people of Maine with an endowment for its keeping.
“Man is born to die, his works are short-lived. Buildings crumble, monuments decay, wealth vanishes. But Katahdin, in all its glory, forever shall remain the mountain of the people of Maine.”
What governs us.
The principles are not new. They are the same ones Governor Baxter wrote into his deeds.
Wilderness first
The land’s protection comes before any recreational use. Where the two conflict, we keep the land.
Held in trust
The park is governed by the conditions Governor Baxter set out in his Deeds of Trust. They are legal instruments, not slogans.
Self-funded
The park is not supported by state taxpayers. Baxter established a trust with nearly $7 million to cover its keeping, supplemented by fees, shop sales, and donations.
Forever wild
The lands "shall forever be kept and remain in the natural wild state." The phrasing is from the original deeds, and it still governs us.
By scale.
- Acres of wilderness
- 209,644
- Miles of trails
- 220+
- Named peaks
- 40+
- Acres as wildlife sanctuary
- ~156,874
- Acres in Scientific Forest Management Area
- ~29,537
- Year Percival Baxter deeded first acres
- 1931
Go deeper.
Baxter and the Deed of Trust
From Governor to landowner to donor. The timeline of the park’s making.
Read moreThe Authority, staff, and advisors
Three Authority members, about 70 staff, and four advisory committees.
Read moreAnnual reports, management plan, minutes
The public record of how the Authority governs the park.
Read moreThe park is self-funded.
Every shop purchase, donation, and fee keeps Governor Baxter’s promise. Thank you for being part of it.