A former governor of Maine built one of North America’s largest state parks piece by piece over three decades. He paid for every purchase with his own money after efforts to use public funds failed. Percival P. Baxter made his first purchase, 5,960 acres around Mount Katahdin, in 1930. By the time he made his final land gift 32 years later, he had given 201,018 acres to the people of Maine. Later land purchases, gifts, and transfers increased the total size of Baxter State Park to 209,644 acres, according to records from the Baxter State Park Authority. The land campaign remains one of the largest efforts by one person to protect land in American history.
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