Charles William Eliot is credited with the formation of the Hancock County Trustees of Public Reservations. A memorial plaque in his honor can be found on the trail to the summit of Eliot Mountain, which also bears his name. The inscription reads as follows:

ELIOT MOUNTAIN 
NAMED FOR 
CHARLES WILLIAM ELIOT 
1834–1926 
ONE OF THE FIRST TO CRUISE THESE 
ISLAND-DOTTED DOWN-EAST WATERS 1872-82 
HE BOUGHT THIS LAND AND BUILT 
THE FIRST SUMMER COTTAGE ON THIS SHORE 1882 
FOUNDER OF THE 
HANCOCK COUNTY TRUSTEES OF PUBLIC RESERVATIONS 1903 
THROUGH WHICH THE LANDS WERE ASSEMBLED 
AND THE 
LAFAYETTE NATIONAL MONUMENT 
NOW ACADIA NATIONAL PARK WAS ESTABLISHED