Westfield

Westfield village lies between U.S. Routes 1 and 1A, on the Prestile Stream, just north of Mars Hill in Aroostook County’s potato country. See photos. Aside from its palette and box factory, Westfield is primarily an agricultural area, except for the marshland in the western portion of the town.

St. Agatha

Farmland and the Village at Long Lake (2005)

Settled by Acadians, the name derives from the parish church that was established in 1890. Farming and lumbering have been this St. John Valley area town’s historic economic base. Located on the northwest shore of Long Lake, Maine Route 162 from Frenchville passes through the main village, then hugs the lake shore and continues along nearby Mud Lake.

Potatoes

Potato Pickers (c. 1950)

I saw mountains of potatoes–oceans–more potatoes than you would think the world’s population could consume in a hundred years. –Steinbeck These girls, probably in the 1950’s, had been hand-picking potatoes, then carrying their baskets to the barrels. The small card, or “ticket” on each barrel identifies the picker by number. The number of completed barrels…

McIntire, Clifford Guy

(1908-1974) a U.S. Representative was born in Perham on May 4, 1908. He attended the public schools of Perham and Washburn High School, and was graduated from the University of Maine College of Agriculture at Orono in 1930. McIntire engaged in farming at Perham from 1930 to 1952. He was an appraiser, supervisor, and regional…

Blaine

Blaine Village on U.S. Route 1 (2016)

named for Maine politician James G. Blaine, it is a “half-township” town, forming a rectangle only half the size of the typical 6-mile by 6-mile square township. In the heart of potato country, between Bridgewater and Mars Hill on Route 1, the town’s eastern boundary is shared with Canada.

Mapleton

Autumn Fields and Hills in Mapleton from Route 163 (2014)

is a town in Aroostook County, incorporated in 1880 from Mapleton Plantation. The early settlers, arriving in about 1836, were from New Brunswick. Potatoes have been a major part of its economy in the 19th and 20th centuries. The Aroostook War of the 1840s discouraged settlement until the 1850s.

Littleton

in potato country north of Houlton, it is split by U.S. Route 1 and borders Canada on its east. See photos. It is home to Southern Aroostook Agricultural Museum. Watson Settlement Bridge, built in 1911, is the oldest surviving Howe Truss system in a Maine covered bridge. The Littleton Esker is west of U.S. Route 1 just north of the Littleton-Houtlon town line.

Linneus

Linneus Town Office near a pond likely to provide water to the firedepartment (2012)

Year Population 1970 608 1980 752 1990 810 2000 892 2010 984 Geographic Data N. Latitude 46:54:25 W. Longitude 67:51:48 Maine House District 145 Maine Senate District 2 Congress District 2 Area sq. mi. (total) 45.8 Area sq. mi. (land) 44.6 Population/sq.mi. (land) 22.1 County: Aroostook Total=land+water; Land=land only [LIN-ee-us] is a town in Aroostook…

Fort Fairfield

Fort Fairfield, established during the Aroostook War, took its name from Governor John Fairfield. The original fort (1839-1843), a duplicate of Fort Kent, was dismantled in 1862. A replica was built in 1976. The 1875 Canadian-Pacific Railroad station is part of the Railroad Museum at the old Bangor & Aroostook rail yard. The town, in the heart of potato country, hosts the Potato Blossom Festival in July.

Exeter

Crop Spray Irrigator at Exeter Corners (2014)

Uncharacteristic for most Maine towns, Exeter has neither a lake, pond or mountain of note. Maine combined Routes 11 and 43 zigs and zags in a generally east-west direction through the town. The economy is a mix between agriculture and work in the Bangor area service industries.

Crystal

in Aroostook County, organized as a plantation 1878 and incorporated 1901. Its Thousand Acre Bog is considered one of Maine’s “Focus Areas of Statewide Ecological Significance.” See map. A pedestrian trail from Patten to Sherman winds through the bog.

Chapman

Fall Foliage at Dudley Brook on the West Chapman Road (2014)

a town in Aroostook County, incorporated in 1915 from Chapman Plantation, was settled in the late 1860s. It cooperates with Castle Hill and Mapleton with a common town manager and comprehensive plan. The Haystack Historical Society serves this rural area.

Castle Hill

Irrigation Equipment in a Potato Field in Castle Hill (2014)

in Aroostook County, incorporated in 1903. The 1,341 foot high Haystack Mountain is the only exception to the relatively flat, potato growing area. Castle Hill is on Maine Route 227, ten miles west of Presque Isle. It shares a town manager with Mapleton and Chapman.

Agriculture

As Maine communities began to lose some of their frontier aspects in the early 19th century and assumed a more settled appearance, civic improvements were initiated. Among these was the regulation of livestock which, in contrast to earlier times, were becoming numerous. Swine, although useful for consuming garbage, in themselves provided a health hazard. No…

Aroostook County

Map of Maine Counties and Baxter Park

the “rooftop of Maine,” John Steinbeck. This northernmost county, known as “the County,” is the state’s largest, established in 1839, during the “Aroostook War.” Famed for its potato growing, the County’s premiere crop has declined steadily, as has its population. Nevertheless, agriculture still dominates the County’s economy and its culture.