A Century of Stories
Worth Saving

Some organizations exist to preserve the past. Others become part of it. The Fort Kent Historical Society, now celebrating its 100th anniversary, has managed to do both.

Founded on December 4, 1925, the society got its start the way a lot of great things do in northern Maine: a small group of determined people who refused to let their community’s story disappear. At the time, they were incorporated as a literary society and for village improvement, which sounds modest. But what that original group built has lasted a century and is still going strong.

We are proud to be displaying their photographs at Lonesome Pines this season, and we wanted to take a moment to tell you a little about who they are, what they stand for, and why their work matters so much to this corner of Maine.

Where It All Began

Fort Kent sits at the very top of U.S. Route 1, at the confluence of the St. John River and the Fish River, in Maine’s wild and beautiful St. John Valley. The valley has long been home to a proud Acadian and Franco-American culture, shaped by farming, logging, and a deep connection to the land and river.

The town itself grew out of conflict. In 1839, a border dispute between the United States and the United Kingdom over the boundary separating Maine from New Brunswick nearly erupted into open war. The confrontation, sometimes called the Aroostook War or the Pork and Beans War, led to the construction of a blockhouse fort at the confluence of the St. John and Fish Rivers. Federal troops arrived, no battles were fought, and the Webster-Ashburton Treaty of 1842 eventually settled things peacefully. The blockhouse was named for Maine Governor Edward Kent, and the town that grew around it took his name too.

That blockhouse is still standing today. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a National Historic Landmark. And the very first project the Fort Kent Historical Society ever took on, back in 1925, was to restore it.

The Founders Were a Remarkable Group

Also among the founding members was Paul D. Thibodeau, whose grandson Jim Thibodeau now serves as the society’s president. When asked how he got involved, Jim’s answer was simple: “I got involved about 15 years ago, after my parents passed, because they were involved.” That kind of intergenerational commitment runs all through this organization.

What the Society Preserves

Today, the Fort Kent Historical Society maintains six buildings near the old train station in the heart of town. Each one tells a different chapter of Fort Kent’s history.