Madawaska Map
Madawaska is a town in Aroostook County, Maine, United States. The population was 4,035 at the 2010 census. Madawaska is opposite Edmundston in Madawaska County in New Brunswick, Canada, to which it is connected by the Edmundston-Madawaska Bridge. Today many of its residents speak French; 83.4% of the population speak French at home. Home of a large annual Acadian festival, Madawaska is the northernmost town in New England.
During the early colonial period, Madawaska was a significant meeting place and hunting/fishing area for the Maliseet (Wolastoqiyik) nation. Madawaska was at the center of the bloodless Aroostook War. The final border between the two countries was established with the Webster-Ashburton Treaty of 1842, which gave Maine most of the disputed area, and gave the British a militarily vital connection between the province of Québec and the province of New Brunswick. Unfortunately, many families were left divided after the settlement.
Madawaska is a rural town whose economy centers on the paper industry. Canadian corporation Twin Rivers (originally Fraser Papers) has a large facility located in Madawaska which processes the pulp produced by the mill's main plant in Edmundston. The pulp is shipped across the border through a mile-long high pressure pipeline running between both facilities, and is made into paper in Madawaska. The Madawaska mill specializes in fine-grade papers. The town's economy is highly dependent upon cross-border trade, to the extent that Madawaska and its larger sister city of Edmundston are considered by residents under many aspects, a single economic entity.
Nearby cities include Fort Kent.