You can’t quite see Canada from the Fort Fairfield Blockhouse, but its presence looms.
The international border is some 3.5 miles — 5.6 kilometers — east up the Aroostook River from the reconstructed war fort. Of course, when it was originally built in 1839, it wasn’t clear where that border was.
New Brunswick, still under British rule, claimed a boundary that zigzagged across Aroostook County to the west from Mars Hill. The American claim stretched into modern day Quebec toward the St. Lawrence River. What is now Fort Fairfield was disputed land, and competing logging claims thrust the region into conflict.
Maine mobilized several thousand militiamen to the area. The U.S. Congress authorized raising as many as 50,000 troops. They were never needed. The Webster-Ashburton Treaty of 1942 found a middle ground between the countries’ claims along the St. John River.
“This is an example of compromise, how two countries compromised and came to a settlement without war, without fighting each other,” Chuck Kornchuk, a local historian, said. “That’s an example for anybody to follow, now and in the future.”
On Saturday, with the U.S. and Canada locked in a trade war disproportionately affecting Maine, locals gathered to mark the 50th anniversary of the blockhouse and celebrate their enduring close relationship with Canadian neighbors at a fort first built to keep their ancestors out.
At a re-dedication ceremony, they played the Canadian national anthem after “The Star-Spangled Banner.” The deputy mayor of Southern Victoria — the village across the border from Fort Fairfield — stopped by to encourage cross-border travel.
“What started as a line of defense has become a living testament to the connection between our communities,” Fort Fairfield Town Manager Aaron Huotari said to a gathered crowd. “For generations, the international border hasn’t kept us apart. It has bound us together. The Aroostook River crosses the border without hesitation. And so do our families, friendships, and shared community life.”
The vast majority of Aroostook County’s population lives within 15 miles of Canada. Many have family across the border. Economic tourism has historically been a boon for both The County and its New Brunswick counterparts.
That tourism lessened over the last decade as the value of the Canadian dollar declined, the pandemic shut the border for 19 months, President Donald Trump launched two trade wars against Canada and talked of making the country America’s 51st state.
But between neighbors, relations are still friendly.
“What I find is that the local people don’t blame me. They don’t blame you. They don’t blame stores in Ford Fairfield or stores in Perth Andover,” said David McCrea, a former Democratic State Rep who is running to reclaim his seat in District 3 this November. “They’re looking at national leadership and the power that one side is trying to exert over the other.”
A member of the Frontier Heritage Historical Society, the group that rebuilt the blockhouse, McCrea has deep roots in Fort Fairfield. So does Sue Bernard, his Republican opponent in the District 3 race. Both also have close connections to Canada. McCrea’s father is from there, so is Bernard’s mother.
They have differing perspectives on the current U.S.-Canada tension.
“I have a lot of friends who are in Canada, and they understand our point of view very well,” Bernard said. ”They’re having a hard time to understand why people who were supposed to talk trade with us walked away from the table … It’s time to say, ‘Enough. Let’s be fair with each other and we’ll come up with something.’”
There were no combat fatalities in the 1839 Aroostook War — save for a bear, cow, or farmer, depending on who is telling the story. But the economic casualties of a prolonged trade war have come into view.
Several Aroostook County towns faced as much as $60,000 in tariff upcharges on road salt imported from Canada until the U.S. government exempted the product this week. Import tariffs on logging equipment and export tariffs on paper are still expected to hit several of Maine’s key industries hard, and economic experts have warned that consumer goods, from cabinets to dairy products, will likely rise in price.
The Frontier Heritage Historical Society rebuilt the Fort Fairfield Blockhouse for the U.S. Bicentennial. In the year of the Semiquincentennial, it stands as a reminder of one of the very first compromises between the U.S. and its northern neighbor, predating the Canadian dominion, as the two nations search for another.
“Preserving our history isn’t just about keeping timber sound and masonry tight. It’s about honoring who we were, so we never take for granted who we have become,” Huotari said. “Loyal friends, strong partners, and families across a peaceable border.”