Maine Memory Network

Boundary survey between New Brunswick and Maine, 1842

Contributed by: Maine Historical Society Date: 1842 Media: Ink on paper

Cartoon of Northeast Boundary dispute, ca. 1842

Contributed by: Maine Historical Society Date: circa 1842 Location: Fort Kent Media: Pen and ink on paper

The Shape of Maine

The boundaries of Maine are the product of international conflict, economic competition, political fights, and contested development. The boundaries are expressions of human values; people determined the shape of Maine.

State of Mind: Becoming Maine

The history of the region now known as Maine did not begin at statehood in 1820. What was Maine before it was a state? How did Maine separate from Massachusetts? How has the Maine we experience today been shaped by thousands of years of history?

Beyond Borders - Mapping Maine and the Northeast Boundary - Fixing Borders on the Land: The Northeastern Boundary in Treaties and Local Reality, 1763-1842 - Page 4 of 5

"Ashburton’s assessment of the 1842 treaty included that the final border was a “good and wise measure” because it fairly balanced US and British…"

Beyond Borders - Mapping Maine and the Northeast Boundary - Fixing Borders on the Land: The Northeastern Boundary in Treaties and Local Reality, 1763-1842 - Page 1 of 5

"A printed map from the treaty year gives some sense of the sharp differences of opinion about where the border should run as it shows proposed…"