The Crown of Maine

Aroostook County was originally a part of Penobscot and Washington counties. The name was derived from an Indian word meaning “beautiful river.” It was incorporated March 16, 1839; the county was enlarged March 21, 1843 by additions from Piscataquis and Somerset counties. It contains two cities, 54 towns and 12 plantations with an area of 6,435 square miles.

Aroostook County is the northernmost county in Maine. Covering over 6,400 square miles, it is the largest county in Maine - in fact, it is larger than Connecticut and Rhode Island combined. Aroostook County is known to many in Maine and New England as “The County.” Houlton is the county seat or “Shiretown” of Aroostook.

Aroostook County, encompassed on three sides by the Canadian Provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec has more than 2,000 lakes, streams and ponds as well as miles of fields and forests. The county produces 1.5 million tons of potatoes annually, which represents approximately 8 percent of the nation’s total.

The county is a place of cultural diversity where descendants of Micmac and Maliseet Indians, Acadian French and Swedish settlers continue to keep their native language, culture and traditions alive. The county is also home of the Allagash Wilderness Waterway - a 100-mile-long waterway where the water flows northward. The area offers a unique opportunity to experience a part of Maine’s wilderness while challenging the sections of fast whitewaters on a trip that is unequaled in the Northeast United States.