Aroostook ( ) is a former village in Victoria County,

New Brunswick New Brunswick is a Provinces and Territories of Canada, province of Canada, bordering Quebec to the north, Nova Scotia to the east, the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to the northeast, the Bay of Fundy to the southeast, and the U.S. state of Maine to ...

, Canada. It held village status prior to 2023. It is now part of the village of Southern Victoria.

Geography

The community is located on the west bank of the Saint John River at the mouth of the Aroostook River. It is approximately 11 kilometres north of

Perth-Andover Perth-Andover is a former village in Victoria County, New Brunswick, Victoria County, New Brunswick, Canada. It held village status prior to 2023. It is now part of the village of Southern Victoria. History Andover was originally called Little ...

History

Aroostook was founded in 1852 and became an important railway centre in 1878 with the completion of the New Brunswick Railway from

Fredericton Fredericton (; ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of New Brunswick. The city is situated in the west-central portion of the province along the Saint John River (Bay of Fundy), Saint John River, ...

Edmundston Edmundston () is a city in Madawaska County, New Brunswick, Canada. Established in 1850, it had a population of 16,437 as of 2021. On January 1, 2023, Edmundston amalgamated with the village of Rivière-Verte, New Brunswick, Rivière-Verte and ...

and the Aroostook River Railway from Aroostook to

Caribou The reindeer or caribou (''Rangifer tarandus'') is a species of deer with circumpolar distribution, native to Arctic, subarctic, tundra, boreal, and mountainous regions of Northern Europe, Siberia, and North America. It is the only represe ...

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

. Both railways were leased by the

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway () , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadian Pacific Kansas City, Canadian Pacific Ka ...

(CPR) in 1890 and a large rail yard and locomotive roundhouse was constructed in the village to service CPR trains operating in northwestern New Brunswick and northern Maine. The construction of taxpayer-funded highways during the 20th century saw railways decline in use following

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. CPR abandoned service through Aroostook in March 1987 following the loss of 2 bridges to ice jams downstream from the village. On 1 January 2023, Aroostook amalgamated with

and parts of two local service districts to form the new village of Southern Victoria. The community's name remains in official use.

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by

Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; ), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and culture. It is headquartered in ...

, Aroostook had a population of living in of its total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of . With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021. Revised census figures based on the 2023 local governance reforms have not been released.

Notable people

References

External links