The creation of Maine state parks in the 1930s followed similar efforts in other northeastern states and was a reaction to the urbanization of southern Maine, considered unnatural and unhealthy at the time. Governor Percival Baxter initiated the first state park in 1931 by donating Mt. Katahdin and surrounding land on the condition that it remain forever wild. Mt. Blue State Park, currently one of Maine’s largest, is located in the remote townships of Weld, Carthage, and Avon, about 55 miles northwest of Augusta. During the Depression, the federal government bought 51 parcels of marginal farmland under the U.S. Resettlement Administration Land Utilization Project. The federal Works Progress Administration built the infrastructure of roads that what would become Mt. Blue State Park, and members of the Civilian Conservation Corp’s youth program built log lean-tos that remain today.
In 1955 the U.S. Department of Agriculture transferred the property to the state. Later acquisitions expanded the park to its current size of 8,200 acres and three distinct areas: Mt. Blue with an abandoned fire tower at the 3,100-foot summit; Center Hill (elevation 1,630) with a drive to the top and panoramic views of Webb Lake and surrounding mountains; and the west shore of Webb Lake with a campground and water recreation facilities. Adjoining the park are more than 10,000 acres of state-owned public land and state-held easements encompassing the Tumbledown Mountain Range.
