Baxter State Park was donated to the State of Maine by Percival Proctor Baxter, governor from 1921 to 1925, and accepted by the state forever to be held in trust in its natural wild state for the benefit of the people of Maine for public park, public forest and public recreational purposes and as a sanctuary for wild beasts and birds. Baxter declared that man is born to die and his works are short-lived, as buildings crumble, monuments decay, and wealth vanishes, but Katahdin in all its glory forever shall remain the mountain of the people of Maine.