Editing Aroostook County, Maine (section)

==History==
Named for the [[Saint John River (Bay of Fundy)|Wolastoq River]], Aroostook's bounds fall completely within Maliseet Country, natively called ''Wolastokuk''. Confederated with neighboring nations like the [[Mi'kmaq]] and [[Abenaki]], the [[Wolastoqiyik|Wolastoqiyik (or Maliseet) Nation]] and their country comprised and still comprises one part of the [[Wabanaki Confederacy]]. This confederation covering several countries across [[Dawnland]] (what is now [[New England]] and the [[Canadian Maritimes]]) came together and confederated during the [[European colonization of the Americas|European]] and [[British colonization of the Americas]].

The sparsely populated [[North Maine Woods]], roughly defined as the headwaters of the [[Saint John River (Bay of Fundy)|Saint John]], [[Penobscot River|Penobscot]] and [[Kennebec River]]s, was populated during the [[Colonial history of the United States|colonial era]] by refugees fleeing oppressive governments. [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Native Americans]], particularly [[Dawnland]]ers, (retreating from hostile European colonists, and smugglers trading with them, and between English Massachusetts and French [[Acadia]]) lived in small communities along the Atlantic coast on the disputed border between those colonies. As England dominated the [[Gulf of Maine]] following the [[French and Indian Wars]], these occupants of the border region retreated up the large rivers into the interior, joined by Acadians escaping the [[Acadian Expulsion]]. Most Acadians and [[Wolastoqiyik|Wolastoqewiyik]] found refuge in Canada's [[Madawaska County, New Brunswick|Madawaska county]], but several communities stayed in what would become the United States, including the [[Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians]], also known as the ''Metaksonekiyak Wolastoqewiyik''. Although the survivors might have preferred to remain independent, surrounding governments dividing their refuge, considering Aroostook County as the west bank of the Saint John River drainage basin upstream of Canada. Under United States control, the area was initially dominated by lumber manufacturing interests, although agriculture became important as population increased. Transportation along the Saint John River, and early rail connections into New Brunswick, created strong business ties with Canada, until the county was connected to the United States rail network by the [[Bangor and Aroostook Railroad]] in 1894. Aroostook County residents retain an independent cultural identity established during their history of isolation on the border frontier.<ref>{{cite book |last=Strout |first=W. Jerome |title =75 Years The Bangor and Aroostook |publisher =[[Bangor and Aroostook Railroad]]  |date =1966 |location =[[Bangor, Maine]] |pages =18–22 }}</ref>

Aroostook County was formed, in 1839, from parts of [[Penobscot County, Maine|Penobscot]] and [[Washington County, Maine|Washington]] counties. Between 1843 and 1844, the county gained more land from Penobscot County, and further exchanged land with [[Piscataquis County]]. In 1889, Aroostook gained a small amount of Penobscot land, subsequently giving it back in 1903, when Aroostook County took on its current form.<ref>Adrian B. Ettlinger.  ''AniMap Plus: County Boundary Historical Atlas.''  Gold Bug Software, Alamo, CA, 1997.</ref>
Some of the territory in the county was part of the land dispute that led to the "[[Aroostook War]]", a dispute which would be settled by the [[Webster–Ashburton Treaty]].
[[File:Child Laborers in a Maine field (1940).jpg|thumb|left|Children gathering potatoes on a large farm in Aroostook County, 1940. Schools did not open until the potatoes were harvested. Photo by [[Jack Delano]].]]

The county was also part of a route on the [[Underground Railroad]], and was one of the last stops before entering Canada. Slaves would meet and hide just outside Aroostook<ref>{{cite web |url=http://maineanencyclopedia.com/fort-fairfield/ |title=Fort Fairfield &#124; Maine: An Encyclopedia |date=November 29, 2011 |publisher=Maineanencyclopedia.com |access-date=May 11, 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120918094742/http://maineanencyclopedia.com/fort-fairfield/ |archive-date=September 18, 2012  }}</ref> or in deserted areas. [[Quakers|Friends Quaker Church]] near [[Fort Fairfield]] was often a final stop.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.crownofmaineproductions.com/dvds/awesomearoostook.html |title=Crown of Maine Productions |publisher=Crown of Maine Productions |access-date=May 11, 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130213025302/http://crownofmaineproductions.com/dvds/awesomearoostook.html |archive-date=February 13, 2013  }}</ref>

Much of Aroostook County's economy was dominated by military spending through the [[Cold War]]. Limestone Army Air Field was built in [[Limestone, Maine]], in 1947. It was renamed [[Loring Air Force Base]] (AFB) in 1953 as the home of the [[Strategic Air Command]] (SAC) [[42d Bombardment Wing]] operating [[Convair B-36 Peacemaker]] bombers. Aroostook County was chosen due to its strategic location as the closest point in the Continental United States to the [[Middle East]] and [[Europe]] including the [[Soviet Union]] west of the [[Ural Mountains]]. Loring AFB could accommodate one hundred of these large bombers; and had both the largest fuel storage capacity, at {{convert|9,200,000|gal|L}}, and the largest weapons storage capacity, at 4700 tonnes [[Net explosive quantity|NEW]], of any SAC base. The 42d Bombardment Wing at Loring operated [[Boeing B-52 Stratofortress]] bombers<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.strategic-air-command.com/bases/Loring_AFB.htm |title=SAC Bases: Loring Air Force Base |website=Strategic-Air-Command.com |access-date=August 3, 2018 }}</ref> until the [[1991 Base Realignment and Closure Commission]] recommended closure and the base closed in 1994.<ref name=HAERLoring>{{cite web|title=Loring Air Force Base|url=http://lcweb2.loc.gov/pnp/habshaer/me/me0300/me0307/data/me0307data.pdf|work=[[Historic American Buildings Survey]]|publisher=[[Historic American Engineering Record]]|access-date=May 11, 2013|author=Earth Tech, Inc.|author-link=Earth Tech, Inc.|location=[[Limestone, Maine]]|year=1994|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130609152542/http://lcweb2.loc.gov/pnp/habshaer/me/me0300/me0307/data/me0307data.pdf|archive-date=June 9, 2013}}</ref>

The [[Acadian World Congress|2014 Acadian World Congress]] was held along the [[Canada–United States border]], co-hosted by Aroostook County and a number of neighboring counties in Canada ([[Témiscouata Regional County Municipality|Témiscouata]] in Quebec, and [[Victoria County, New Brunswick|Victoria]], [[Madawaska County, New Brunswick|Madawaska]] and [[Restigouche County, New Brunswick|Restigouche]] in New Brunswick). Organizers planned a [[Tintamarre]] that was held in the town of Madawaska, Maine, as well as a giant [[tug of war]] across the [[Saint John River (Bay of Fundy)|Saint John River]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Olmstead|first=Kathryn|title=Van Buren, Canadian towns reach across border to get ready for World Acadian Congress in August|url=http://bangordailynews.com/2014/04/10/living/van-buren-canadian-towns-reach-across-border-to-get-ready-for-world-acadian-congress-in-august/|access-date=April 11, 2014|newspaper=[[Bangor Daily News]]|date=April 10, 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140413142830/http://bangordailynews.com/2014/04/10/living/van-buren-canadian-towns-reach-across-border-to-get-ready-for-world-acadian-congress-in-august/|archive-date=April 13, 2014}}</ref>