St. David Catholic Church

Farmland in Madawaska

Agriculture remains a significant portion of the economy of the St. John Valley in general and Madawaska in particular.

MADAWASKA

[mad-ah-WAH-skah] in Aroostook County, is Maine's northernmost town. Home to native Micmac people, it was also settled in the 1750's by Acadian exiles.

The town was named for the river whose Indian name has been interpreted to mean "having its outlet among the reeds" and "worn out grass (land)."  A monument with a large cross marks the landing of the Acadians.  Several small stones, in front of recently planted trees, commemorate individual ancestors who were among the early arrivals.

 
Monument marking the landing site of the Acadians, with a memorial stone

By 1787 a chapel reportedly held services in Madawaska and fifty-two settlers were given deeds to homesteads in 1790.   In 1817 several U.S. citizens settled near the confluence of the Meruimticook River (Baker Brook) and the St. John River, and one of this group was granted 100 acres of land in 1825.

It was incorporated on March 15, 1831 as a huge town covering millions of acres of Maine and Canadian territory with the intent of asserting the State's rights to the region. Sovereignty over the area remained in dispute since after the American Revolution, finally being resolved by the Webster-Ashburton Treaty in 1842.

 
Madawaska's Main Street, and the street to Edmunston

Madawaska's Maine Street is U.S. Route 1.  It's economy is dominated by the Fraser Paper Company, whose plant straddles the border with Edmunston, New Brunswick.  The international border crossing is, as a result, a busy one.

National Register of Historic Places - Listings

Acadian Landing Site 9/20/73, East of Madawaska on the St. John River off U.S. 1 
St. David Catholic Church 10/2/73, East of Madawaska on U.S. 1 

Additional resources