Cadillac Mountain - #RenametheMountain
Cadillac Mountain in Acadia National Park is a nationally-recognized landmark, known for at least two things…1) It is the first place in the United States to see the rays of the sun for part of the year; and 2) It is the highest point, at 1,530 feet MSL, on the Eastern Seaboard of North America.
Wapuwoc: White Mountain of the First Light. National Park Service information/educational sign first posted in 2023 at the Summit of Cadillac Mountain.
While most of us associate the name, “Cadillac”, with the automobile, the mountain is not named for the vehicle. It’s named for Antoine Laumet, aka Antoine de la Mothe, aka Antoine la Mothe de Sieur de Cadillac, aka Cadillac, who lived from 1658 to 1730. He was an early French explorer who barely had a role in the settlement of Mount Desert Island, where Cadillac Mountain and most of Acadia National Park is located, in Maine.
View of Frenchman Bay and Bar Harbor from Cadillac Mountain, Acadia National Park
Sign the Petition! #RenametheMountain
You might think a name change is impossible. Would it surprise you that Acadia National Park’s original name was Lafayette National Park? It can happen.
Continue reading for the justification of changing Cadillac Mountain to Wapuwoc…
Cadillac Mountain, from The Narrows in Trenton, Maine
Yves F. Zoltvany has written an excellent biographical summary on the man Cadillac, and explains how some would record him as one of the “great early heroes in North American history” and others as, “one of the worst scoundrels ever to set foot in New France” (see Citation below).
After researching what little can be found about Antoine Laumet/de la Mothe, it is quite apparent that while he was educated and quick-thinking, he was more of an arrogant con artist rather than a man of noble character. In fact, his actual position in early military service is questionable, he made up the title Sieur de Cadillac (Sire of Cadillac), and made up his Coat of Arms to appear as if he were royalty. He then embarked on a life of self-promotion and personal gain through misleading and arrogant behavior.
Cadillac came to Mount Desert Island around 1688 and was only there for about 6 months. He never returned. His expedition to MDI is one of the least notable events recorded in his historical biographies, but he is considered to be the first “official” land owner. His granddaughter, Therese de Gregoire, was granted ownership to half of Mount Desert Island about 100 years later by the Massachusetts courts.
To the point of this post: Cadillac Mountain was known as Green Mountain prior to being renamed in 1918, but before that it was known as Wapuwoc among the indigenous Wabanaki people. The Wabanaki (meaning People of the Dawn) are a confederation of five tribes: Passamaquoddy, Mi’kmaq, Maliseet, Penobscot, and Abenaki. It’s the right time to go back to the mountain’s original indigenous name.
According to George Neptune, a Passamaquoddy native:
"The biggest mountain was called Wapuwoc. One of the many words for “mountain” is woc - which is clearly seen in the ending uwoc. The beginning, wap, can be defined as the noun “light,”...So, speakers define Wapuwoc, the indigenous name of Cadillac Mountain, to mean “[the] first light white mountain” - or as I like to call it, “the white mountain of the first light.”
Cadillac Mountain at First Light
It’s Time for Change #RenametheMountain
Let’s try to give the mountain it’s original name back. Let’s go back to a name that has true, relevant meaning, the White Mountain of the First Light - Wapuwoc.
I’ve already started the process by submitting the official application to the U.S. Board on Geographic Names, Domestic Names Committee, and you can help by signing the petition in support of this by following one of these links:
Will it happen? Unlikely. The impact of renaming a geographical point in a National Park is enormous. But the seed has to be planted. The effort has to start somewhere. It’s time that we restore the name back to its indigenous heritage and honor the People of the Dawn who settled Mount Desert Island centuries before a European presence.
Citation:
Yves F. Zoltvany, “LAUMET, de Lamothe Cadillac, ANTOINE,” in Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 2, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003–, accessed August 7, 2023, http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/laumet_antoine_2E.html.