Sieur de Monts Spring and Wild Gardens of Acadia

The spring sits at the first major stop along the Park Loop Road, where Acadia began. President Woodrow Wilson designated this ground Sieur de Monts National Monument in 1916 — named by George Dorr after a French explorer's title — before Congress remade it into Lafayette National Park and, eventually, Acadia. The Wild Gardens here, established in 1961, simulate the park's range of native habitats. Dorr served as the park's first superintendent until 1944. This is where the park's story starts; it still reads clearly.