Place Names of The County

A look at the place names of the County begins with the waters that define it. Aroostook County was incorporated on March 16, 1839, taking its name from the Aroostook River. The name stems from a Mi'kmaq or Maliseet word meaning 'beautiful river' or 'clear, beautiful water,' which Maine map-maker Moses Greenleaf noted in 1823 as deriving from the Native word Walloostook for 'good river' or 'fine river.' Further north, the town and waterway of Allagash carry an Abenaki Algonquian name translating to 'bark shelter,' 'bark cabin,' or 'bark cabin lake.' Along the St. John River, Madawaska comes from the Maliseet word 'Madoueskak' or 'Madaweskek,' meaning 'land of the porcupine' or 'porcupine place.' East of town along U.S. Route 1, the Acadian Landing Site marks where French Acadians arrived in the late 18th century, now preserved on the National Register of Historic Places.

French descriptive phrasing also gave Presque Isle its identity. Originally settled in the 1820s as Fairbanks—named for Dennis Fairbanks, who built the first sawmill and gristmill—the community incorporated as a town on April 4, 1859. It took the name Presque Isle from the French words 'presque' and 'île' for 'almost an island' or 'peninsula,' describing how the land is nearly encircled by the Aroostook River and Presque Isle Stream. Nearby Caribou was settled in 1824 and incorporated in 1859 under the name Lyndon. In 1877, the municipality was officially renamed Caribou by the Maine Legislature, drawing its name from nearby Caribou Stream and the woodland caribou that were once native to the area.

Other communities trace their names directly to early founders and leaders. Houlton was settled beginning around 1805 to 1807 and named after surveyor and founder Joseph Houlton, who surveyed the original half-township grant. Its early history and records from towns across the region are preserved at the Aroostook County Historical and Art Museum in the 1903 White Memorial Building. Tensions during the border dispute of the Aroostook War brought military installations that became permanent communities: Fort Kent grew around an 1839–1840 frontier blockhouse named for Maine Governor Edward Kent, while Fort Fairfield was established as an outpost honoring Maine Governor John Fairfield.

Distinct visions for settlement shaped additional towns across the County. Benedicta was founded in the 1830s as a Catholic community named after Roman Catholic Bishop Benedict Joseph Fenwick of Boston. Settled around 1835 as Dalton and Buchanan, Ashland was incorporated to honor Henry Clay's Kentucky estate. In 1870, Maine State Commissioner of Immigration William Widgery Thomas recruited Swedish immigrants to establish New Sweden, while Township No. 6, Range 5 was organized in 1876 as Merrill Plantation, named for Captain William Merrill of Portland, who bought land there around 1840.