Our Acadia National Park Christmas ornament captures the rugged beauty of this Maine coastal haven, established in 1916. It features a striking scene of a lighthouse perched atop rocky cliffs, basking in the glow of a fiery sunset over the Atlantic Ocean, with vibrant wildflowers and a loon in the foreground, reflecting the park’s rich natural diversity. The design is framed with an elegant border and a banner marking the park’s legacy, making this keepsake a perfect way to celebrate Acadia’s dramatic landscapes and serene wildlife during the Christmas season.
Details
Designed by and exclusive to: White House Holidays
Material: Solid brass
Origin: Made in the USA
Includes: Gift box, brochure and ornament
What the ornament celebrates
Acadia's history stretches back over 12,000 years, when the Wabanaki people lived on Mount Desert Island, naming it "Pemetic," or range of mountains. French explorer Samuel de Champlain mapped the area in 1604, naming it "Isle de Monts Desert" for its bare peaks, and for the next 150 years the island was contested between the French and British. English settlers arrived in 1761 and built an economy on fishing, farming, granite quarrying, and shipbuilding. By the mid-1800s, the island's rugged beauty was drawing artists and wealthy families, who built grand summer "cottages" and hotels, and tourism took hold.
That growth brought its own worries about overdevelopment. In 1901, Harvard President Charles W. Eliot established the Hancock County Trustees of Public Reservations to protect key parcels, and George B. Dorr, later known as the Father of Acadia National Park, donated land and lobbied for federal protection for years. On July 8, 1916, President Woodrow Wilson designated the area Sieur de Monts National Monument. It became Lafayette National Park in 1919, the first national park east of the Mississippi, and was renamed Acadia National Park in 1929, honoring the historical French name for the region.
Today Acadia offers 150 miles of hiking trails and scenic drives like Park Loop Road, with Cadillac Mountain, at 1,527 feet the highest point on the U.S. East Coast, drawing crowds at sunrise as one of the first places in the country to see the day's light. A stop at the Jordan Pond House for tea and popovers, a tradition dating to the 1890s, remains one of the park's small enduring rituals.