Fort Kent Blockhouse

I have been saving this photo because this is one of the major stories I wanted to tell.  I love hanging near the blockhouse when I go to Fort Kent.  It is a very peaceful area, and I love being near history.

The history in this case is the Bloodless Aroostook War.  This is my understanding of the conflict.  The Treaty of Paris in 1783 marked the end of the Revolutionary War, but left the border between Maine (Massachusetts at the time of the signing) and Canada (Nova Scotia at the time).  The Crown wanted the St. John Valley south of the St. John River.  The lush farmland and forests were coveted properties.  Not to be outdone, the young republic thought the border should be north of the St. John River.  Troops were sent to the disputed area from both sides.

This is a by-product of the conflict.  When the snow melts, and I am up there next I will get more complete shots of the area. 

The Webster-Ashburton Treaty of 1842 resolved the conflict making the northern border the St. John River.  It seems to be the most reasonable resolution to the conflict for me.  Both sides got a piece of the lush farmland.  So it is the reason why the border at Fort Kent spans the St John River.

Some of the conflict still exists today.  Canadian loggers have a time complying with the rules about logging in the State of Maine. 

I guess, in a fashion, some things never change. 

Be seeing you.

Life at the End of the Road

Now that I am back at home, I can prattle on and tell a proper tale.  The spotty wifi signal made blogging in Fort Kent really annoying.  I lost part of my "S is for Snow and Sled" post and had to retype the last couple of paragraphs before publishing.  It was amazing I got the "Breaking Bread" post done.

But enough whining, I love Northern Door Inn and Fort Kent in general.  I have a topic to discuss.

Fort Kent marks the northern tip of US Route 1.  This sign is right outside the Northern Door Inn, where I stay.  The other side of the sign is the same but marks it as mile 0.  US Route 1 runs from Fort Kent to Key West, Florida.  It still is a major pre-interstate highway route.

In Maine, it runs along the St. John river on the northern border from Fort Kent to Van Buren.  Then it turns south and goes through Caribou and Presque Isle to Houlton.  It eventually leaves Aroostook County and enters Washington County in Danforth.  It keeps going south and connects the border town of Calais to the coast.  Machias is one of the coastal Washington County towns it connects to its more popular and more touristy cousins further down the Maine coast.  Then it runs near the coast to the New Hampshire border. 

But let us return to Fort Kent.

The America's First Mile Monument

This is right near the border crossing to Canada.  You can catch a glimpse of the bridge to Canada in the background.  You have to cross the St. John River to get to Clair, New Brunswick.  I plan to talk of these topics in future blogs, but I will mention now that the St. John River defines the northern border of Maine with Canada and that people on both sides of the border here are bilingual. 

English and French are spoken on both sides of the border.  The Quebecois think they have the corner market on the French language in Canada, but there is a rich French tradition in New Brunswick, too.

Although US Route 1 ends here, the road travels west into the towns of St. Francis and Allagash.  I had the pleasure last fall of wandering a little this way and to see the Allagash River.  It is gorgeous country out there.

Well enough of the end of the road for now.

Be Seeing You.