The County 2020 | Aroostook County Tourism Regional Guide | Page 46

THE COUNTY | 2020-2021
A BELOVED LAND OF “BEAUTIFUL WATER”
Nourishing a diverse American story with its deeply planted roots.
Throughout 2020, Aroostook County will join the rest of Maine in celebrating
the Bicentennial Anniversary of Maine’s Statehood. Previously a part of
Massachusetts, Maine became the nation’s 23rd state on March 15, 1820.
At that time, Aroostook County was still nearly another 20 years away from
being officially incorporated into Maine as a county on May 1, 1839.
Yet the history of Aroostook County goes back much further than that. The
first native North Americans encountered by European explorers were the
Algonquian-speaking Wabanaki peoples. Among these are the Mi’kmaq and
Maliseet, who lived and hunted off the land and who’s culture dates back
9,000 years. Our connection to the native people runs so deep that the name
Aroostook comes from a Mi’kmaq word meaning “beautiful water.”
In the late 1700s following the end of the American Revolution, the northern
boundary between Great Britain and the United States was still unsettled.
Despite this brave settlers began to move further in the region, with original
Acadian settlements first appearing at that time on the banks of the
St. John River near today’s Madawaska. Houlton, the first permanently
settled American town in Aroostook County was founded in 1807. By 1830
the population here had grown to approximately 3,400.
In the mid-1800s, the growing population of Scotch-Irish had introduced
potato farming to the region, and with the arrival of the railroads, agriculture
would become big business in The County. About 1869, Maine’s state
immigration commissioner traveled to Sweden and recruited 51 immigrants
skilled in the logging trade to start a new life in the northern Maine forests
and establishing the colony known as New Sweden.
The early 20th century saw an economic and cultural boom in The County.
The area became popular for agricultural fairs, festivals, and circuses, While
the advent of the telephone expanded communication and business.
During the Cold War, military spending heavily augmented The County’s
economy. Loring Air Force Base held a strategic location being the closest
point in the Continental U.S. to the Middle East and Europe. This prime
location also made The County the ideal launch spot for the first successful
solo and team transatlantic balloon flights. Our connection to ballooning
continues to this day with the Crown of Maine Balloon Festival, held
every August in Presque Isle. The area is now extremely popular as an
outdoor recreation location, welcoming visitors year-round.
Millions of Americans can trace their ancestry back to Maine and The County,
weaving the traditions nourished here into the greater American story.
Visit our website for more information about the history of
Aroostook County.
©Paul ©Paul Cyr Cyr Photography ©Paul Cyr Photography
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