Co-chairs of Fort Fairfield’s Sesquicentennial Committee
Choosing to become a “town” didn’t just occur out of the blue. Neither was township imposed upon this community. Rather, the decision came from people who had learned the value of community. Approximately 50 years before township, individuals had bravely set out on their own to harvest the natural resources of the geographical area now known as Fort Fairfield. Try to imagine: Virgin forests where grandiose maple, oak and pine trees grew;
Five-foot diameter pines were the norm;
There were no cleared plots of land;
There were no roads – only the river and a few Native American trails existed;
The soil had not been heated by direct sunlight for hundreds of years;
Everything much colder then, than it is now.
It was just such a place that courageous, ambitious, and hopeful early settlers came. Life was indeed primitive. The early settlers cleared bits of the giant forest and shaped some of the trees into small dwellings along the river. Those towering trees didn’t allow much sun to warm the earth that first summer. Yet, somehow, the earliest settlers managed to forage enough to eat and to prepare shelter for the winter. By necessity, their workday lasted much longer than the sun shone each day. Their few draft animals, hand tools, and a water supply were the only resources those settlers had to reap their harvest of trees.
Most of the early folk came from Canada’s St. John River Valley in search of trees. They left their homes and logged along the Aroostook River, which floated their “crop” into Canada, so it could be shipped to the motherland, England. Forests were here for the taking – no boundaries were protected then. Although the Treaty of Paris 1785 had granted huge blocks of land to both Canada and the United States, there was no definitive line existing.
It wasn’t until the 1830s that Americans expressed an interest in this unexplored land of theirs. Those early explorers discovered “looters” on their land, and reported back to the State of Maine, which in turn requested federal support. Troops were sent up through Maine to protect this land from the “looters.” They started on the Penobscot at Bangor and followed the water route as much as they could, eventually building the Military Road all the way to Masardis. At that point, they came down the Aroostook River into Fort Fairfield, where they built two forts (designed by none other than Robert E. Lee of Civil War fame). The larger fort was on Fort Hill, complete with soldiers’ and officers’ barracks, palisade, commissary store, blacksmith shop and a cookhouse. A smaller fort was nearer the river, close to the present day replica. This was built to help protect the “boom,” which the soldiers had constructed across the Aroostook River to stop the illegal logging by Canadians.
The most acknowledged result of the soldiers’ efforts and actions during that period of the Aroostook War was: the Webster Ashburton Treaty, which established definitive markers separating the United States and Canada. Those soldiers had also opened a route into Aroostook, and many had recognized the potential in the forests, as well as the incredibly rich soil exposed by the first settlers. Those soldiers saw their future in Fort Fairfield and stayed.
These and later settlers developed the land increasingly further from the river. Neighborhoods developed and before long, neighborhood schools developed. In one such school, the Union Meetinghouse (McIntosh School) held a town meeting, which voted to proclaim Fort Fairfield officially a town on March 26, 1858.
Three years later, the Civil War called most local men to battle in the South. How those families survived for that 1861-1865 period can only be imagined. Much is written about how those soldiers suffered in the heat and swamps, as well as on battlegrounds; Maine units have a proud history of valor during the Civil War. Less has been written of the suffering at home and the community efforts that made it possible to survive in northern Maine with the large loss of manpower.
In time, Fort Fairfield worked together as a community and persuaded the Canadian Pacific Railroad to put a spur into the town. At last there was land transportation to and from the Aroostook region! It wasn’t long before other communities joined with Fort Fairfield and used their political and financial power to build the Bangor and Aroostook Railroad to service Fort Fairfield and surrounding towns. By 1881, Aroostook finally had a way to market its trees into the United States markets, and was no longer dependent on Canada for export.
Growth was phenomenal. The population increased exponentially as new families came up the Military Road to seek their fortunes. Fort Fairfield was truly a “Frontier Town” and the Frontier Bank became a major factor in building an economy. Riches from lumber continued, as did the riches from potatoes. Starch factories were introduced, which provided a market for sub-prime potatoes. Hundreds of thousands of pounds of starch and potatoes were shipped into U.S. markets. Fertilizers were created, farming machinery was invented, and the Fort Fairfield economy switched from forests to farming.
Impressive homes were built, businesses thrived, and entrepreneurs were abundant. Gambling was a big part of the Fort Fairfield society. Innovation was critical. People came here for opportunity, and for many it did happen. Merchants appeared from far away places and many ethnic groups helped to weave the fabric of our community. Churches of many denominations kept appearing on the landscape. Animal husbandry thrived. Horses were a necessity: draft horses for farming, others were bred for racing, which became a favorite pastime. Times were good.
The automobile arrived in Fort Fairfield in style: the Reed Garage, built in 1916, featured a Grand Opening which was so big that the train schedule was changed to run directly from Houlton to Fort Fairfield for the event. Dancing ladies were imported from Boston for entertainment, and they were all presented with mink coats as gifts. Parties were huge and the newspapers featured many such events. Times were wild!
Sadly, the Great Depression of the 1930s came to Fort Fairfield. Many well-to-do farmers, as well as those on a smaller scale, lost their fortunes. However, the spirit of the town could not be defeated. Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) was helpful. People were put to work on public infrastructure, as well as on private projects. In Fort Fairfield, “The Park” was built, which included a half-mile racetrack and an enormous grandstand. Under W.P.A., the Frontier Bank (now Katahdin Trust) had a mural painted to portray Fort Fairfield’s Heritage, which still greets visitors today. Our town made a comeback.
Fort Fairfield was next affected by World War II. Most able-bodied men and many women went off to defend the U.S., leaving their farms under the care of those unable to go. Prisoners of War were brought in at critical times to help with the harvest and/or planting. Indeed, families of the farm offered not only their lives, but also their livelihoods to the WWII effort.
During WWII, one important new crop was children. War widows and single mothers gathered together and helped each other with collective parenting. After WWII, large school classes were a sign of the times. New schools became paramount as Fort Fairfield tried to meet the needs of those postwar babies. Classes of 45 were the norm.
The Cold War period brought Loring Air Force Base to “The County.” Many townspeople found work there. Others found a reason to leave. Education was changing – technology was appearing everywhere. Televisions opened a whole new world to this new generation, which in the beginning was content and fascinated to just stare at the “test pattern” on the television. Many “baby boomers” left Fort Fairfield after high school for other opportunities. Yet their roots went with them, and speaking from experience, this adage is true: “You can take people out of ‘The County,’ but you can’t take ‘The County’ out of the people.”
Those who stayed have continued to explore and build upon the potential of this community. New natural resources are being explored. Optimism is ever-present, and “Friendly Fort Fairfield,” in all of its civility and beauty, is a town which has good reasons to “Celebrate Its Time – 1858-2008.”
