Madawaska, Maine

During the early colonial period, Madawaska was a meeting place and hunting/fishing area for the Maliseet (Wolastoqiyik) nation. Later, it was at the center of the bloodless Aroostook War. The final border between the two countries was established with the Webster-Ashburton Treaty of 1842, which gave Maine most of the disputed area, and gave the British a militarily vital connection between the province of Québec and the province of New Brunswick.^[4] Unfortunately, many families were left divided after the settlement.^[5] ^[6]

Economy

Madawaska is a rural town whose economy centers on the Saint John River paper industry. The river historically provided water power for the mills and was the route of log drives bringing pulpwood from upstream forests. The river still provides the water supply for paper manufacture, but environmental concerns encourage pulpwood delivery by highway and rail.^[7] Canadian corporation Twin Rivers (originally Fraser Papers) has a large facility located in Madawaska which processes the pulp produced by the mill's main plant in Edmundston. The pulp is shipped across the border through a mile-long high pressure pipeline running between both facilities, and is made into paper in Madawaska. The Madawaska mill specializes in fine-grade papers. The town's economy is highly dependent upon cross-border trade, to the extent that Madawaska and its larger sister city of Edmundston are considered by residents under many aspects, a single economic entity.^[8]

Madawaska is also home to the St. John Valley Times, a popular weekly newspaper circulated across Aroostook County.^[9]

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 56.24 square miles (145.66 km²), of which 55.56 square miles (143.90 km²) is land and 0.68 square miles (1.76 km²) is water.^[1] Madawaska is located beside the Saint John River, the Canada – United States border. The town is served by U.S. Route 1.

Climate

This climatic region is typified by large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and cold (sometimes severely cold) winters. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Madawaska has a humid continental climate, abbreviated "Dfb" on climate maps.^[10]

Climate data for Madawaska
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Average high °C (°F)	−8.2 (17.2)	−5.9 (21.4)	−0.2 (31.6)	7.3 (45.1)	15.8 (60.4)	20.7 (69.3)	23.3 (73.9)	22.2 (72)	17.2 (63)	9.7 (49.5)	2.2 (36)	−4.7 (23.5)	8.3 (46.9)
Daily mean °C (°F)	−12.8 (9)	−10.6 (12.9)	−4.8 (23.4)	2.8 (37)	10.2 (50.4)	15.2 (59.4)	18.1 (64.6)	16.9 (62.4)	12.0 (53.6)	5.5 (41.9)	−1.1 (30)	−8.5 (16.7)	3.6 (38.5)
Average low °C (°F)	−17.4 (0.7)	−15.2 (4.6)	−9.4 (15.1)	−1.8 (28.8)	4.7 (40.5)	9.6 (49.3)	12.8 (55)	11.6 (52.9)	6.8 (44.2)	1.3 (34.3)	−4.4 (24.1)	−12.3 (9.9)	−1.1 (30)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	45.7 (1.799)	20.3 (0.799)	38.1 (1.5)	71.1 (2.799)	76.2 (3)	99.1 (3.902)	109.2 (4.299)	101.6 (4)	88.9 (3.5)	63.5 (2.5)	73.7 (2.902)	63.5 (2.5)	853.4 (33.598)
Source: ^[11]

Panorama of Madawaska and the Saint John River as seen from Edmundston

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
1820	1,114		—
1830	2,487		123.2%
1840	3,460		39.1%
1850	1,276		−63.1%
1860	585		−54.2%
1870	1,041		77.9%
1880	1,391		33.6%
1890	1,451		4.3%
1900	1,698		17.0%
1910	1,831		7.8%
1920	1,933		5.6%
1930	3,533		82.8%
1940	4,477		26.7%
1950	4,900		9.4%
1960	5,507		12.4%
1970	5,585		1.4%
1980	5,282		−5.4%
1990	4,803		−9.1%
2000	4,534		−5.6%
2010	4,035		−11.0%
Est. 2014	3,892	^[12]	−3.5%
U.S. Decennial Census^[13]

2010 census

As of the census^[2] of 2010, there were 4,035 people, 1,983 households, and 1,128 families residing in the town. The population density was 72.6 inhabitants per square mile (28.0/km²). There were 2,398 housing units at an average density of 43.2 per square mile (16.7/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 98.4% White, 0.2% African American, 0.5% Native American, 0.2% Asian, and 0.6% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.5% of the population.

There were 1,983 households of which 20.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.2% were married couples living together, 6.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.2% had a male householder with no wife present, and 43.1% were non-families. 38.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 19.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.00 and the average family size was 2.62.

The median age in the town was 51.2 years. 16.7% of residents were under the age of 18; 4.4% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 18.5% were from 25 to 44; 34.1% were from 45 to 64; and 26.2% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the town was 49.1% male and 50.9% female.

2000 census

As of the census^[14] of 2000, there were 4,534 people, 1,993 households, and 1,301 families residing in the town. The population density was 81.5 people per square mile (31.5/km²). There were 2,362 housing units at an average density of 42.4 per square mile (16.4/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 98.08% White, 0.15% Black, 0.44% Native American, 0.68% Asian, 0.09% from other races, and 0.55% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.20% of the population.

There were 1,993 households out of which 26.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.8% were married couples living together, 6.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.7% were non-families. 30.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.22 and the average family size was 2.77.

In the town the population was spread out with 20.4% under the age of 18, 5.2% from 18 to 24, 25.3% from 25 to 44, 30.1% from 45 to 64, and 19.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females there were 91.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.1 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $30,994, and the median income for a family was $42,269. Males had a median income of $46,117 versus $22,361 for females. The per capita income for the town was $18,552. About 7.5% of families and 11.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.9% of those under age 18 and 11.8% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Madawaska's schools serve Madawaska, St. David, and Grand Isle. The Madawaska Elementary School has students from pre-kindergarten through the 6th grade. Madawaska Middle/High School contains grades 7 through 12.

Notable people

Patricia Cyr, Miss Maine (1975)
Emilien Levesque, Maine state legislator
Charles Theriault, Maine state legislator
Roland White, bluegrass musician

References

Texts

Acadians of Madawaska, Maine

Endnotes

1 2 "US Gazetteer files 2010". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2012-12-16.
1 2 "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2012-12-16.
↑ "Population Estimates". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2013-07-06.
↑ Varney, George J. (1886). "Gazetteer of the state of Maine. Madawaska". Boston: Russell
↑ Robert Remini, Daniel Webster (1997) 535-64
↑ Madawaska Historical Society
↑ United States Department of Transportation (1974). Rail Service in the Midwest and Northeast Region. United States Government Printing Office.
↑ Wright, Virginia. "In the Shadow of the Border". Down East: the Magazine of Maine (June 2006).
↑ "St. John Valley Times". http://www.sjvalley-times.com/pages/contact_us. External link in |publisher= (help); Missing or empty |url= (help)
↑ Climate Summary for Madawaska, Maine
↑ "Madawaska, Maine Temperature Averages". Weatherbase. Retrieved 29 May 2015.
↑ "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Incorporated Places: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2014". Retrieved June 4, 2015.
↑ "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
↑ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-01-31.

External links

Municipalities and communities of Aroostook County, Maine, United States

County seat: Houlton

Cities	Caribou Presque Isle

Towns	Allagash Amity Ashland Blaine Bridgewater Castle Hill Caswell Chapman Crystal Dyer Brook Eagle Lake Easton Fort Fairfield Fort Kent Frenchville Grand Isle Hamlin Hammond Haynesville Hersey Hodgdon Houlton Island Falls Limestone Linneus Littleton Ludlow Madawaska Mapleton Mars Hill Masardis Merrill Monticello New Canada New Limerick New Sweden Oakfield Orient Perham Portage Lake St. Agatha St. Francis Sherman Smyrna Stockholm Van Buren Wade Wallagrass Washburn Westfield Westmanland Weston Woodland

Plantations	Cary Plantation Cyr Plantation Garfield Plantation Glenwood Plantation Macwahoc Plantation Moro Plantation Nashville Plantation Oxbow Reed Plantation Saint John Plantation Winterville Plantation

Unorganized territories	Bancroft Central Aroostook Connor Northwest Aroostook South Aroostook Square Lake

CDPs	Ashland Blaine Fort Fairfield Fort Kent Houlton Limestone Loring AFB (former) Madawaska Mapleton Mars Hill-Blaine (former) Mars Hill Van Buren Washburn

Other villages	Clayton Lake Crouseville Estcourt Station Fort Kent Mills Maine Portage Saint David Sinclair Smyrna Mills Wytopitlock

Saint John River Watershed

Tributaries	Allagash River Aroostook River Baker Branch Saint John River Becaguimec Stream Big Black River Birch River Blackwater River Campbell Branch Little Black River River De Chute Daaquam River Fish River Hammond River Jemseg River Kennebecasis River Keswick River Little Black River Little Machias River Little Madawaska River Little River Little Saint Roch River Little Southwest Branch Saint John River Machias River Madawaska River Meduxnekeag River Nashwaak River Nerepis River North Branch Birch River North Branch Blackwater River North Branch Meduxnekeag River Northwest Branch Saint John River Oromocto River Red River Saint Croix Stream Saint Francis River Shields Branch South Branch Birch River South Branch Blackwater River South Branch Machias River South Branch Meduxnekeag River Southwest Branch Saint John River Tobique River West Branch Little Black River

Lakes	Chemquasabamticook Lake Cross Lake Eagle Lake Fish River Lake Grand Lake Long Lake Mactaquac Lake Mud Lake Lake Pohenegamook Portage Lake Saint Froid Lake Scopan Lake Square Lake Umsaskis Lake

Towns	Allagash Ashland Blaine Bridgewater Caribou Eagle Lake Easton Edmundston Florenceville-Bristol Fort Fairfield Fort Kent Fredericton Frenchville Grand Bay–Westfield Grand Falls Grand Isle Hampton Hartland Hodgdon Houlton Limestone Littleton Madawaska Mapleton Mars Hill Masardis Monticello Nackawic New Limerick Oromocto Perham Perth-Andover Pohénégamook Portage Lake Presque Isle Quispamsis Rivière-Bleue Rothesay Sainte Agatha Saint-Camille-de-Lellis Saint-Cyprien Saint Francis Saint John Saint-Just-de-Bretenières Saint-Léonard Saint-Marcel Saint-Pamphile Saint-Zacharie Stockholm Sussex Van Buren Washburn Westfield Woodstock

Landmarks	Allagash Wilderness Waterway Bangor and Aroostook Railroad Clair–Fort Kent Bridge Edmundston–Madawaska Bridge Florenceville Bridge Fort Kent Hartland Bridge North Maine Woods Reversing Falls Saint John Harbour Bridge Saint John River High Level Crossing Saint Leonard–Van Buren Bridge Tinker Dam Watson Settlement Bridge

Coordinates: 47°18′25.8696″N 68°14′29.69″W / 47.307186000°N 68.2415806°W / 47.307186000; -68.2415806

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