Searching Your Aroostook
County Roots
by Central Aroostook Chamber of Commerce
If you are planning a trip to Central
Aroostook County to do genealogical
research, plan to take in some of the
multitude of events that will be going
on as well. You never know where you
will run into someone you are related
to or who grew up with an ancestor.
We receive many calls throughout
the year looking for information on
Aroostook County Ancestry. The
Fairmount Cemetery in Presque Isle
is the largest cemetery in northern
Maine and encompasses over 30
acres of beautiful rolling land. It is
the site of more than 6000 burials.
Of this number, more than 700 were
veterans dating as far back as the Civil
War. Attracting thousands of visitors
from local and far away each year,
the cemetery is an important piece
of Aroostook history. The cemetery
is well maintained and managed by
Fairmount Cemetery Association.
In 2015, the following website was
established by the GIS Laboratory of
the University of Maine at Presque Isle.
www.fairmountcemeterypresqueisle.
com.The GIS Laboratory, led by Dr.
Chunzeng Wang, also performs annual
update to the cemetery GIS database
and this website (normally in June or
July).
The local churches have good records
of births, marriages and deaths. There
are a number of small cemeteries
spread throughout the area. Finding
them will require contacting historians
in the immediate area.
If you know your ancestors came
from Aroostook County, you may
want to bring your passport because
there has been a lot of traffic back
and forth across the Canadian border
throughout the years. You may need
to go to neighboring communities in
New Brunswick to follow one ancestor July is full with Ashland Area Summer
or both.
Fest, Easton Field Days, OxBow
Music Festival, Maine Potato Blossom
We are fortunate to have a new Festival, County Bluegrass Festival
museum opening this summer. (July edition), Broadway Kids in the
Presque Isle Historical Society will be County, Caribou Days, Mars Hill
opening Maysville Grange. The site Homecoming, Washburn’s August
served simultaneously as the Town Fest, Crown of Maine Balloon Fest and
Hall, the Maysville School, and the then the September County Bluegrass
Maysville Grange. Maysville Centre Festival.
School closed for good in 1949 and the
Maysville Grange ceased to exist due to On every Thursday from June 8 to
lack of membership in the late 1980s. August 31, either Caribou or Presque
The original building on this site was Isle will host a street fair with music,
constructed in 1865. With the help vendors, food and fun.
of volunteers, this museum expects to
be open regular hours this summer. Between festivals you have time to
It will house artifacts of the Presque relax at a cottage, float down a river,
Isle Historical Society. The PIHS also walk in the woods, pick strawberries,
provides a number of guided tours raspberries or blueberries, drive some
throughout the spring, summer and of our winding roads which provide
fall. Visit their website www.pihistory. amazing views around every turn,
org for more information on guided enjoy some great food and sample
and self-guided tours, presentations craft beer or wine at one of our young
and camps.
facilities crafting beverages from local
resources.
Festivals, class reunions and family
reunions begin in earnest in June and Yes, you can do all of that in a day,
carry on until October to allow time because there are no traffic jams, few
for all that has to be c