Maine Memory Network

Congres National de Raquetteurs, Biddeford, 1979

Contributed by: Franco-American Collection, University of Southern Maine Libraries Date: 1979 Location: Biddeford Media: Ink on paper

Program, Congres International des Raquetteurs, Lewiston, 1985

Contributed by: Franco-American Collection, University of Southern Maine Libraries Date: 1985 Location: Lewiston Media: Ink on paper

Les Raquetteurs

In the early 1600s, French explorers and colonizers in the New World quickly adopted a Native American mode of transportation to get around during the harsh winter months: the snowshoe. Most Northern societies had some form of snowshoe, but the Native Americans turned it into a highly functional item. French settlers named snowshoes "raquettes" because they resembled the tennis racket then in use.

Franco-American Collection

View collections, facts, and contact information for this Contributing Partner.