In 1894, Furbish also helped to found the Josselyn Botanical Society of Maine and she served as president in 1911. In 1908, Furbish bequeathed her collecton of paintings and drawings to Bowdoin College. She died on December 6, 1931. Kate Furbish's name gained fame in 1976 when the wild snapdragon, named the Furbish lousewort, was rediscovered after having been believed to be extinct. This discovery helped stall and eventually stop the building of the Dickey-Lincoln dam and reservoir on the St. John's River, which would have flooded 88,000 acres of northern Maine forests.
Collection primarily comprises bound volumes of Furbish's sketches and watercolors of flora.
Other items in the collection are correspondence, research materials such as flora identification notes and catalogues of Maine plants, herbaria, images of Furbish and botanical artwork, journals, manuscripts, artifacts and printed ephemera.