Our Maine Street's Aroostook Issue 10 : Fall 2011 | Page 48

hand side of the road, it is very common to see numerous
deer in the field along the road. Both sides of the road
are now wooded for the next several miles of Route 161.
There are a couple of openings in the trees that expose the
location of Madawaska Lake and the former location of
Stan’s which was a local congregating point and post office
for Madawaska Lake, Maine. It was the home of 10 cent
coffee and the inside of the store contained numerous items
that one would find in an old country store of long ago.
Stan’s was torn down in 2006, but the latest news from
the region is that Stan’s is being rebuilt. After leaving the
Madawaska Lake Area, the State of Maine had a couple of
rest areas that they maintained for picnics. Our family went
to these locations to spend an afternoon under the canopy
of a brown-painted log structure over a picnic table with a
charcoal grill near the picnic tables.

The road continues northbound and emerges into a
clearing for a small village of Cross Lake. A Halfway Hotel
was located on the Mud Lake to Cross Lake thoroughfare.
This was the big place to stop and rest for the night during
the days of travel by horse. The hotel fell into a state of
disrepair and it eventually collapsed under the weight of
snow and was demolished a couple of years ago. Across
the road from the hotel is St. Peter’s Store, which has been
alongside the road since 1898. The State of Maine used to
house horses at the store to be used to pull a snow roller
for the roads. After St. Peter’s Store, another Tastee Freeze
was located where Route 162 starts on its way to Sinclair
and Long Lake. The potato fields of Central Aroostook
begin to reappear as one leaves the Cross Lake area. These
fields continue all the way through New Canada and onto
Fort Kent, but the area now contains more hilly terrain.
Route 161 continues until it intersects Route 1 in Fort
Kent. At this intersection, the Bangor and Aroostook
Railroad Station House is now the home of the Fort Kent
Historical Society. Soucy’s Market used to be located at the
intersection of Route 1 and 161. Route 161 turns left into
downtown Fort Kent. The road crosses the Fish River and
the Fort Kent Blockhouse State Historic Site can be found
next to the bridge. The Fort Kent Blockhouse was built
in 1839 during the “Bloodless Aroostook War.” Fort Kent
Blockhouse is located at the confluence of the Fish River
and the St. John River [