Maine Minutiae : Presque Isle - Peninsula City

Aroostook County is an unspoiled diamond on what is called 'The Crown of Maine". That's waaaaaay up north for the uninitiated. Aroostook County is a large area, bigger than Connecticut and Rhode Island combined. Presque Isle is the major city in The County, as it is sometimes called. The city gets it name from the French word meaning peninsula. You see, Presque Isle is a peninsula formed by the Aroostook River and Presque Isle Stream. For a period of time, nobody was even sure if the town was in the USA or Canada, but that was settled the good old fashion way - war! Wikipedia states : "Originally known as Fairbanks for its founder Dennis Fairbanks, it was settled in 1828 in land that was unknown to be Canadian or American. The Aroostook War broke out in 1838 because of boundary disputes with Canada, which were resolved in 1842 by the Webster-Ashburton Treaty. The township was incorporated from Plantations F, G and H on April 4, 1859 as Presque Isle.." Today, being firmly ensconced in the US, Presque Isle is a bustling city of 9500 and a center for commerce and business. You'll also find the University of Maine- Presque Isle and Northern Maine Community College as well as a nationally recognized K-12 school system. There's a chance that the potatoes you had for supper last night came from Presque Isle or The County. To get a bit more on the history of Presque Isle click here. By the way, here's a note for you Mainers : the Northern Maine Fair gets underway today and runs for the next 8 days! Have a great weekend!