Estcourt Station, Maine
Encyclopedia
Estcourt Station is a village in Big Twenty Township
, Aroostook County
, Maine
, United States
. It is the northernmost
point in Maine and New England
.
Estcourt Station is located on the International Boundary between Maine and Quebec
, at the southern end of Lake Pohenegamook
. It derives its name from the adjacent village of Estcourt, Quebec, which is part of the larger municipality of Pohénégamook
.
Estcourt Station consists of several houses, some of which were built before the International Boundary was properly surveyed through the area (see Webster–Ashburton Treaty) and which the border now divides. There is also a general store and a small gas station. Estcourt Station does not have public road access to the rest of Maine (without entering Canada), although an extensive network of privately-owned logging roads (maintained by forestry companies) extends south of the community across northern Maine.
Estcourt Station accesses Rue Frontière, a street on the Quebec side of the border. Estcourt Station uses Quebec's area code 418 for telephone service, and is connected to Hydro-Québec
for electricity
. The community receives drinking water
and other municipal services from Pohénégamook.
Canadian National Railway
's transcontinental main line between Halifax and Montreal passes immediately north of Rue Frontière.
There are border control
stations on both sides of the international boundary, although they are staffed only several hours daily, usually for processing logging trucks which access Maine's North Woods
to haul timber to Quebec saw mills.
) that implicated Michel Jalbert, a Pohénégamook resident, who was imprisoned for 35 days in the U.S. after purchasing gas in Estcourt Station outside of the U.S. Customs Service's normal operating hours. U.S. Border Patrol agents said that Mr. Jalbert was a convicted felon (convicted in Canada for breaking and entering in 1990 when he was 19 years old) and was in illegal possession of a firearm; he reportedly had a shotgun in the back of his truck – a common occurrence in the area during partridge
hunting season.
Big Twenty Township
The Big Twenty Township is an administrative division in Aroostook County in northern Maine. It is one of the largest townships in Maine, and contains Estcourt Station, a village of four people that is the northernmost point in Maine...
, Aroostook County
Aroostook County, Maine
Aroostook County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maine. In 2010, its population was 71,870. In land area, it is the largest county in the state and the largest U.S. county east of the Mississippi River. Its seat is Houlton...
, Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It is the northernmost
Extreme points of New England
This is a list of extreme points of New England, which are points that extend farther north, south, east or west than any other part of New England. There is also the highest, lowest point and the geographic center....
point in Maine and New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
.
Estcourt Station is located on the International Boundary between Maine and Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, at the southern end of Lake Pohenegamook
Lake Pohenegamook
Lake Pohenegamook is a Canadian lake located in southeastern Quebec immediately north of the International Boundary with Maine ....
. It derives its name from the adjacent village of Estcourt, Quebec, which is part of the larger municipality of Pohénégamook
Pohenegamook, Quebec
Pohénégamook, Quebec is a Canadian town on the International Boundary in Quebec's Témiscouata Regional County Municipality.The town shares the border with Estcourt Station, Maine, the northernmost point in New England....
.
Estcourt Station consists of several houses, some of which were built before the International Boundary was properly surveyed through the area (see Webster–Ashburton Treaty) and which the border now divides. There is also a general store and a small gas station. Estcourt Station does not have public road access to the rest of Maine (without entering Canada), although an extensive network of privately-owned logging roads (maintained by forestry companies) extends south of the community across northern Maine.
Estcourt Station accesses Rue Frontière, a street on the Quebec side of the border. Estcourt Station uses Quebec's area code 418 for telephone service, and is connected to Hydro-Québec
Hydro-Québec
Hydro-Québec is a government-owned public utility established in 1944 by the Government of Quebec. Based in Montreal, the company is in charge of the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity across Quebec....
for electricity
Electricity
Electricity is a general term encompassing a variety of phenomena resulting from the presence and flow of electric charge. These include many easily recognizable phenomena, such as lightning, static electricity, and the flow of electrical current in an electrical wire...
. The community receives drinking water
Drinking water
Drinking water or potable water is water pure enough to be consumed or used with low risk of immediate or long term harm. In most developed countries, the water supplied to households, commerce and industry is all of drinking water standard, even though only a very small proportion is actually...
and other municipal services from Pohénégamook.
Canadian National Railway
Canadian National Railway
The Canadian National Railway Company is a Canadian Class I railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. CN's slogan is "North America's Railroad"....
's transcontinental main line between Halifax and Montreal passes immediately north of Rue Frontière.
There are border control
Border control
Border controls are measures used by a country to monitor or regulate its borders.The control of the flow of many people, animals and goods across a border may be controlled by government Customs services. Security is enforced by various kinds of Border Guards and Coast Guards...
stations on both sides of the international boundary, although they are staffed only several hours daily, usually for processing logging trucks which access Maine's North Woods
North Woods
The Laurentian Mixed Forest Province, also known as the North Woods, is a forested ecoregion in Canada and the United States. In Canada it is found in Ontario around the Great Lakes and the Saint Lawrence River through Quebec to Quebec City...
to haul timber to Quebec saw mills.
Michel Jalbert incident
In October 2002, there was an "unfortunate" border incident (described by Secretary of State Colin PowellColin Powell
Colin Luther Powell is an American statesman and a retired four-star general in the United States Army. He was the 65th United States Secretary of State, serving under President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2005. He was the first African American to serve in that position. During his military...
) that implicated Michel Jalbert, a Pohénégamook resident, who was imprisoned for 35 days in the U.S. after purchasing gas in Estcourt Station outside of the U.S. Customs Service's normal operating hours. U.S. Border Patrol agents said that Mr. Jalbert was a convicted felon (convicted in Canada for breaking and entering in 1990 when he was 19 years old) and was in illegal possession of a firearm; he reportedly had a shotgun in the back of his truck – a common occurrence in the area during partridge
Partridge
Partridges are birds in the pheasant family, Phasianidae. They are a non-migratory Old World group.These are medium-sized birds, intermediate between the larger pheasants and the smaller quails. Partridges are native to Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East...
hunting season.