BANGOR – King’s Daughters Home celebrated the 100-year anniversary of Dr. Coe’s donation of the house at 89 Ohio St. with a special open house Oct. 16. Approximately 60 people attended the event. At the open house, Girl Scout Troop 70 of Corinth was presented a certificate of appreciation for its 88 hours of community service performed at the home. Troop member Erin Keim received the award for the group from board member Linda Allen.

Special guest speaker Jack Donovan, managing trustee for the Nancy Patricia Coe Trust, gave a presentation about the Coe family who settled in Bangor in the mid-1800s. The Coes managed timberlands and became one of the largest property owners and business developers in the city. He told about the undaunted spirit of the Coes, who faced many tragedies in their personal lives. Dr. Coe practiced medicine for about 15 years before devoting himself fulltime to real estate development and timberland management. He built several good quality buildings on Columbia and Main streets in Bangor, some of which burned in a fire in 1925. But one building that bears his name may still be found at 61 Main St.

Dr. Coe and his brother, Eben, were among some of the most generous benefactors to numerous organizations in the greater Bangor area, including the University of Maine, the Bangor Public Library, Eastern Maine General Hospital, the Bangor Theological Seminary, the YMCA, and the Bangor Historical Society, to name only a few.

Dr. and Mrs. Coe had no children who survived them but a brother, Henry Coe, traveled to the West Coast in 1847, where he prospered in the farming and ranching business. Henry’s descendents became trustees of Dr. Coe’s estate after his death in 1920 and even now continue to enjoy the benefits of the generosity of their relatives back East from whom they inherited great wealth. They, too, carried on the tradition of family philanthropy, most notably with the donation of land for the Henry W. Coe State Park in Santa Clara County, Calif.

Evidence of the Coe legacy also may be seen at Bowdoin College, Dr. Coe’s alma mater. Coe funded the college and supported the Coe Infirmary in memory of his son, who died as a teenager.

Coe Park on Court Street was donated to the city of Bangor by the Coe heirs and once included a school on the property.

The King’s Daughters Home board and staff expressed gratitude to Dr. Coe for his generosity and support of its mission to provide low-cost housing to women who are in Bangor to attend school or start a career. It offers an affordable alternative to apartment or college dormitory living. The home has served thousands of women since its inception in 1891 and offers a “home away from home” to the women who choose to live under its roof. Openings for both spring and fall semesters are currently available. For information, call Resident Directors Rick and Judy Lambert at 945-3844 or www.allsoulsbangor.com/kdh.