Maine Memory Network

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• Item 148629
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Description

Madawaska was among the first areas permanently settled by Acadians and French Canadians who moved to the Upper St. John River in the 1780s. Settlers maintained close familial, religious, and commercial ties with the other side of the river even after the Webster-Ashburton Treaty of 1842, which established the river as the international boundary line from Grand Falls to St. Francis. Small ferries moved goods and people across.

Madawaska was firmly connected to Edmundston, New Brunswick, with the construction of a bridge in 1922; it remained in use for more than a century. The construction of bridges in Van Buren, Madawaska, and Fort Kent enabled U.S. customs officials to narrow cross-border traffic to specific checkpoints like the one on this photograph. (A very similar structure was built in Van Buren.) This customs house replaced an earlier structure seen in MMN item 8176. Although the photograph is not dated, a piece from the same collection showing the building and bridge from a slightly different angle is postmarked 1948.

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About This Item

• Title: International bridge and border crossing, Madawaska, ca. 1948
• Creator: American Art Post Card
• Creation Date: circa 1948
• Subject Date: circa 1948
• Location: Madawaska, Aroostook County, ME
• Media: Photographic postcard
• Dimensions: 8.7 cm x 13.8 cm
• Local Code: MCC-00461
• Collection: Jean Paul Michaud Collection II
• Object Type: Image

Cross Reference Searches

Standardized Subject Headings

• Bridges--Maine--Madawaska
• Madawaska (Me.)--Postcards
• Saint John River (Me. and N.B.)

Other Keywords

• Canada-U.S. border
• Greater Madawaska region
• International boundary
• St. John River

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More Info

This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. No Permission is required to use the low-resolution watermarked image for educational use, or as allowed by the applicable copyright. For all other uses, permission is required.

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More to Consider

Item 8176

Madawaska to Edmundston bridge, 1923

Item 148666

Fraser mill and international bridge, Madawaska, ca. 1940

Item 149027

Toll house and international bridge, Madawaska, ca. 1948

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