culturel du Mont-Carmel in Grand Isle. Although these sites are not official stops along the byway, they are steeped
in local history and have their own very interesting stories to tell.
On your journey, you may notice a series of 4ft. x 8ft. carved wood panels depicting a scene of Acadian history.
Tom Côté, a renowned wood carver from Limestone, ME was commissioned to sculpt a series of panels to be placed
throughout the St. John Valley for the World Acadian Congress. Currently, there are six panels erected. Five of these
panels are on the same site as a byway roadside exhibit (Governor Brann School - Cyr Plantation; Acadian Village
– Van Buren; the rest area in Grand Isle; Tante Blanche Museum – Madawaska, and the Frenchville Heritage Park ).
The other is located at the Veteran’s Memorial Park (Town Square) in Portage Lake. Mr. Côté is currently working
on the two last panels that will be placed in Fort Kent and St. Agatha.
For more information on local heritage sites in the St. John Valley, visit the Maine Acadian Heritage Council’s
website at www.maineacadian.org. If you would like more information about the area’s other events, activities,
lodging/dining information (for a little side entertainment during your stay), feel free to contact the local Chamber
of Commerce offices – The Greater Fort Kent or Greater Madawaska Chamber of Commerce.
Dona Saucier is the Executive Director of the Greater Fort Kent Area Chamber of Commerce. For contact
information, visit www.fortkentchamber.com. Don Raymond volunteers in several cultural organizations and is
currently working on a project on the St. John Valley Cultural Byway for WFKTV-4, Fort Kent’s local television
station. Check out a review of these panels on their YouTube page.
Sample of kiosks: rich in
photographs. Each panel
is written in English and
French. These panels
speak of the importance
of the railway in the
development of the St.
John Valley. One is located
at the Train Station
Museum in Fort Kent and
the other at the St. Francis
Historical Society Museum
next to the restored B&A
Railroad Turntable.
SUMMER 2016
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