Baxter State Park sues owner of historic cabins on Katahdin Lake

BANGOR DAILY NEWS • September 11, 2026

Baxter State Park Authority is suing a man who allegedly allowed the decay of historic wilderness sport cabins on Katahdin Lake. Charles FitzGerald bought the more-than-100-year-old Katahdin Lake Wilderness Camps in 2002. The park started leasing him the 31-acre site to operate as a wilderness sporting camp in May 2007, and the one-year lease was renewed through 2018. The lawsuit alleges FitzGerald breached his contract and seeks to have a judge declare that the park has the right to his personal property at the camps. FitzGerald has not operated the wilderness camps since at least 2018 and has held onto the property despite the lease ending in May 2019. He has not paid rent since the lease ended. Without FitzGerald, the Katahdin Lake area would not have been acquired by the park, according to a letter written by his wife and sent to park officials.