Brief
History:
Aroostook County (/əˈruːstək/
ə-ROO-stək; French: Comte d'Aroostook) is
a county in the U.S. state of Maine along
the
Canada–United States border.
Its county seat is Houlton, with offices
in Caribou and Fort Kent.
Known locally in Maine as "The
County", it is the largest county in Maine
by total area, the second largest in the
United
States by total area east of the
Mississippi River, behind St. Louis
County, Minnesota, and the 31st largest
county in the
entire contiguous U.S. With over
6,800 square miles (18,000 km2) of land it
is larger than three U.S. states. It is
Maine's
northernmost county. Its
northernmost village, Estcourt Station, is
also the northernmost community in New
England and in
the contiguous United States east of
the Great Lakes.
Aroostook County was formed in 1839
from parts of Penobscot and Washington
counties. In 1843, Aroostook gained land
from Penobscot County; in 1844,
Aroostook again gained land from
Penobscot, plus it exchanged land with
Piscataquis
County. In 1889, Aroostook gained
slightly from Penobscot, but gave back the
land in 1903 when Aroostook County gained
its final form. Some of the
territory in this county was part of the
land dispute that led to the "Aroostook
War" that would be
settled by the Webster–Ashburton
Treaty.
The county was also part of a route
on the Underground Railroad, and was one
of the last stops before entering Canada.
Slaves would meet and hide just
outside Aroostook or in deserted areas.
Friends Quaker Church near Fort Fairfield
was often
a final stop.
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