Pingree Heirs | No. 11 830,000 ACRES Known as the Merchant Prince of Salem, David Pingree (1795–1863) purchased his first tract of Maine timberland in 1841. Although he eventually established landholdings in Kentucky, Ohio, New Hampshire, Texas, and Wisconsin, his…
Peter Buck | No. 7 1,236,000 ACRES (up 311,000 acres) Privately held Subway, which was founded by Peter Buck and Fred DeLuca in the 1960s, is the largest single-brand restaurant chain on earth with more than 41,000 locations in 100-plus…
Irving Family | No. 6 1,247,880 ACRES Kenneth Colin “K.C.” Irving (1899–1992) ranks as Canada’s equivalent of Standard Oil founder John D. Rockefeller. In the early 20th century, Irving gained a foothold in the oil patch that eventually evolved into…
To the nation’s largest landowner, one of the most valuable attributes of his timberland and ranchland holdings is the benefits to society of good stewardship. In Maine, for instance, Malone’s million-plus acre BBC LAND holdings use photosynthesis to absorb enormous…
Subway cofounder Peter Buck increased his family’s substantial timber holdings in the Pine Tree State from 925,000 acres to 1,236,000 acres by acquiring 311,000 acres from Birmingham’s McDonald family. The acquisition elevates the former nuclear physicist from No. 9 to…
No. 24 McDonald Family 474,000 acres This Alabama family holds the vast majority of their US lands (some 300,000-plus acres) in Maine via GREAT NORTHWOODS LLC. The McDonalds also own more than 100,000 acres in their home state as well…
No. 11 Pingree Heirs 830,000 acres (up 125,000 acres) Pingree lands are consolidated in Maine and owned by fifth-, sixth-, and seventh generation descendants of David Pingree (1795—1863). Known as the Merchant Prince of Salem, Pingree’s nineteenth-century empire ultimately exceeded…
No. 9 Peter Buck 925,000 acres (up 125,000 acres) How many Subway Cold Cut Combos go into an acre of timberland? (Here’s a hint: It doesn’t matter if you order a six-inch combo or the footlong.) Only a nuclear physicist…
No. 6 Irving Family 1,247,880 acres (up 1,644 acres) J.K. Irving planted the company’s one billionth tree in July. Quite an accomplishment for a family rooted in the legacy of patriarch James Dergavel Irving, whose grandparents emigrated from Scotland with…
Yankee Magazine reports that E.B. White’s 44-acre saltwater farm on the Maine coast has been listed for $3.7 million by Martha Dischinger at Downeast Properties. E.B. and Katharine White bought the farm, which sits on a small inlet off Blue…
