53-831: The International Avenue Border Crossing connects the towns of Calais, Maine and St. Stephen, New Brunswick via the International Avenue Bridge on the Canada–US border . The crossing opened on November 16, 2009, and was the first new border crossing to open on the Canada–US border in 42 years. The opening of the crossing marked the first time since 1961 (when the Union Bridge was closed) that there have been three bridges connecting Calais with St. Stephen. Currently, all commercial vehicles crossing between these towns must use this crossing. This Maine state location article
106-522: A few miles, and is accessed from St. Stephen by three cross-border bridges. On 1 January 2023, St. Stephen annexed all or part of seven local service districts and was renamed the Municipal District of St. Stephen, retaining town status. Revised census figures have not been released. The Peskotomuhkati people (formerly referred to as the Passamaquoddy) were the first to make their home along
159-563: A key employer. Circa 1866, the Douglas Axe Manufacturing Company built their factory on Dennis Stream. In 1883, it was purchased by E. Broad & Sons, who operated the company until 1895 when a new company was formed under the name of St. Stephen Edge Tool Co. In 1911, Harry Broad formed the Mann Axe & Tool Co. with Charles Heustis as president and manager. With two storeys of the original factory now in use, they acquired
212-511: A newspaper. CHTD-FM , known as "98.1 Charlotte FM", plays adult contemporary music and offers regular news updates. CJRI-FM broadcasts from Fredericton studios and operates a St. Stephen transmitter at 99.9 on the FM dial, offering a southern gospel music format along with Canadian news, weather and sports. Founded in 1865, the Saint Croix Courier is the town's weekly newspaper, and also publishes
265-528: A public meeting of the ratepayers of St. Stephen, who would assume the obligation of paying for the interest and principal of the debenture. A majority of the ratepayers of St. Stephen duly passed the necessary vote and the County issued the debenture. Some residents of St. Stephen who opposed the measure challenged the tax assessment in the Supreme Court of New Brunswick, arguing that the provincial Legislature lacked
318-562: A section of the international boundary between the United States and Canada, forming a natural border between the towns on either side of the river bank. This section of the river and the land surrounding it was fought over heavily by both the French and the English during the 1600s, both sides believing the river lands should be part of their territory. Later, the river was used as a boundary between
371-506: A third bridge and Port of entry (POE) to connect the two communities. Referred to as the International Avenue Bridge , this bridge and POE opened on November 16, 2009, and serves commercial, cargo, trucking , passenger vehicles, campers, RVs, and buses. However, both the Ferry Point and Milltown crossings remain in use for passenger vehicles and pedestrians. The new inspection facility alleviates traffic congestion from downtown Calais and
424-567: A weekend edition, the Courier Weekend . The Courier is one of the few papers in New Brunswick that is not owned by the Irving family . St. Stephen has a number of elementary and two secondary schools, a public library, several churches, two museums, two community swimming pools, an enclosed hockey arena, a number of retirement homes, and a 44-bed hospital. St. Andrews , some 30 km distant,
477-543: Is Shawn Lyons. Calais has an elementary school , a middle school , a high school , and a technical school . Calais is home to a two-year community college . The nearest four-year university is located in Machias, Maine . Calais is located at the junction of U.S. 1 , a major north-south highway that runs along the Eastern Seaboard , and Route 9 , which crosses the state from east to west. Since October 25, 2012 ,
530-635: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Calais, Maine Calais / ˈ k æ l ɪ s / is a city in Washington County, Maine , United States. As of the 2020 census , it had a population of 3,079, making Calais the largest municipality by population in Washington County, but the third least-populous city in Maine (after Hallowell and Eastport ). The city has three Canada–US border crossings (also known as ports of entry ) over
583-613: Is a Canadian town in Charlotte County, New Brunswick , situated on the east bank of the St. Croix River around the intersection of New Brunswick Route 170 and the southern terminus of New Brunswick Route 3 . The St. Croix River marks a section of the Canada–United States border , forming a natural border between Calais, Maine and St. Stephen. U.S. Route 1 parallels the St. Croix river for
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#1733085253959636-439: Is also home to St. Stephen's University , a small private Christian university. Basketball appeared in St. Stephen in 1891, introduced by Lyman Archibald at the local Young Men's Christian Association , and continued by J. Howard Crocker . In the early 1890s, Crocker organized the annual track and field meets on Victoria Day at the local horse racing track. A hotbed of baseball interest, in 1934, St. Stephen hosted
689-617: Is now home to the 5 Kings Picaroon's Brew Pub and the spur line was decommissioned and turned into the Riverfront Walking Trail. Woodland Rail operates a spur line between its pulp and paper plant in Baileyville, Maine and St. Stephen, where the New Brunswick Southern Railway takes Woodland freight to Saint John for wider distribution. A lawsuit, Winner v. S.M.T. (Eastern) Limited , which ended in 1954, pitted
742-493: Is now simply known as St. Stephen. For a short time, the town was called St. Stephen-Milltown, but the new name, not having caught on, reverted to simply the Town of St. Stephen. For official use, however, it is called the Town of St.Stephen-Milltown as written agreement stated at amalgamation in 1973. Every August since 1985, the town hosts a week-long Chocolate Fest, celebrating their rich and delicious heritage. The festival mascots are
795-558: Is temperate but it is greatly affected by the size of the Bay of Fundy . The Bay is a cool body of water which acts as an air conditioner in the summer and diverts major snow storms in the winter. The Bay never freezes. The average summer temperature is 22 °C with the average winter temperature being -3.9 °C. Environment Canada maintains a testing program for water quality at the Milltown Dam generating station. The St. Croix River marks
848-573: Is the home of the first railroad built in the state of Maine, the Calais Railroad, incorporated by the state legislature on February 17, 1832. It was built to transport lumber from a mill on the St. Croix River opposite Milltown, New Brunswick , 2 miles (3 km) to the tidewater at Calais in 1835. In 1849, the name was changed to the Calais & Baring Railroad, and the line was extended 4 miles (6 km) farther to Baring . In 1870, it became part of
901-512: The American Revolution . The river provided the mill town with water power for industry, which included sawmills, clapboard and shingle mills, two planing mills , a saw factory, two axe factories and four grain mills. There were foundries , machine shops , granite works, shoe factories and a tannery . Other businesses produced bricks , bedsteads , brooms , carriages and plaster . The relationship between Calais and
954-576: The Boston Braves of baseball 's National League for an exhibition game against the local " Kiwanis " team, which was attended by half the town. In 1939, the local baseball team won its ninth consecutive New Brunswick senior championship, topping off a decade of dominance in the sport at both the provincial and Maritime levels. The St. Stephen Aces compete in the Maritime Junior A Hockey League but were dissolved in 2019. A building which housed
1007-710: The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certification for comprehensive use of sustainable design and technology. Recycled, reused, and local materials were used during the construction. The facility conserves energy by bringing natural light into every occupied space, and conserves water by using low-flow fixtures that consumes 40 percent less water than traditional plumbing. The Calais port of entry, designed by Robert Siegel Architects , provides six lanes of non-commercial inspection and three lanes of commercial inspection. Milltown, New Brunswick St. Stephen
1060-544: The Milltown Dam . Until recently, electricity generated by the Milltown Dam was exported to the United States, connected to a 69kV transmission circuit owned by the Eastern Maine Electric Cooperative, an electric utility serving Calais . In 1957, the textile mill closed, and it was demolished in 1972. At one time, the St. Croix Cotton Mill employed as many as 1200 persons at peak periods. Ganong remains
1113-459: The St. Croix River connecting to St. Stephen, New Brunswick , Canada. Calais has been a city of commerce and is recognized as the primary shopping center of eastern Washington County and of Charlotte County, New Brunswick . Retail, service, and construction businesses are the primary components of the Calais economy. This area was occupied for thousands of years by indigenous peoples. The historic Passamaquoddy , an Algonquian-speaking people of
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#17330852539591166-458: The St. Croix River to St. Stephen and, on 7 June 1704, took Chartier by surprise and his family fled into the woods. On June 13, Church reported they were destroying the crops of the Acadians and the Acadians and Peskotomuhkati fired upon Church's troops, resulting in a three-hour exchange. Church killed and imprisoned 35 Acadians and Peskotomuhkati, one of Church's men was wounded, and the community
1219-643: The Wabanaki Confederacy , was predominant in this area at the time of European encounter and settlement. The St. Croix River and its area were first explored by the French Samuel de Champlain when he and his men spent a winter on St. Croix Island in 1604. The first permanent settler was Daniel Hill of Jonesboro , who arrived in 1779 during the American Revolutionary War , when this was still part of Massachusetts. With other settlers, he built
1272-615: The American owner of an intercity bus company against a Canadian company, for the right to pick up and drop off passengers on the route from Saint John to Bangor, Maine . The right of the American party was upheld. Acadian Lines bus service was discontinued due to low ticket sales in 2011. Residents of St. Stephen and Calais often regard their community as one place, cooperating in their fire departments and other community projects. For much of their history, both towns' fire departments have responded in tandem to any fire call on either side of
1325-578: The Canadian and American sides of the river, each branding its logs with a unique symbol. By the early 1900s, 200 ships had been built in the St. Croix waters. However, by the end of World War II the town's main employers were Ganong Bros. Limited , Canada's oldest candy company, established 1873, and the St. Croix Cotton Mill, Canada's second largest textile mill, with 20,000 spindles, opening its doors in June 1882 and operating its own hydro-electric generating station,
1378-773: The French Raid on Deerfield , New Englander Major Benjamin Church raided the Acadian villages of Castine, Maine (then known as Penobscot). From the Raid on Castine, Church learned that Michel Chartier was granted the land of present-day St. Stephen and was building a fort at Passamaquoddy Bay . Church and his men arrived at the Passamaquoddy Bay on board the Province Galley , Gosport , Fearly , and several other vessels. Church travelled up
1431-561: The Great Chocolate Mousse and Tiffany, his wife. The spotlight on the wonder of chocolate resulted in the opening of The Chocolate Museum in 1999 and its expansion in 2009. In 2000, St. Stephen was given the title of "Canada's Chocolate Town." On 13 December 2010, a rainstorm caused a flood upstream on a tributary to Dennis Stream. This created hardship to the businesses that were located on or near King Street. The flood caused many layoffs, and Sobeys eventually closed down. The problem
1484-628: The National Register of Historic Places are the Calais Historic District, Calais Residential Historic District, Devils Head Site, Gilmore House , Thomas Hamilton House , Hinckley Hill Historic District , Holmes Cottage , Dr. Job Holmes House , Theodore Jellison House , Pike's Mile Markers , St. Anne's Episcopal Church , George Washburn House and Whitlocks Mill Light . According to the United States Census Bureau ,
1537-518: The St. Croix & Penobscot Railroad. Calais was incorporated as a city on August 24, 1850. On July 18, 1864, Confederate agents crossed the border from New Brunswick and attempted to rob a bank in Calais. The Calais Free Library was designed by Boston architect Arthur H. Vinal and opened on July 4, 1893. The Romanesque Revival building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2001. Other places in Calais listed on
1590-431: The St. Croix River. They dispersed and hunted inland in the winter; in the summer, they gathered more closely together on the coast and islands, and primarily harvested seafood, including porpoise. In 1604, French explorer Samuel de Champlain and his men spent a winter here. The Peskotomuhkati were forced off their original lands repeatedly by European settlers since that time. During Queen Anne's War , in response to
1643-405: The United States and Canada, and many believed the line between the two countries should be drawn down the middle of the river itself. However, there were still many smaller branches to the river and various islands that were not spoken for and did not decidedly belong to one country or another. The government dock, which is more like a small pier , is subject to a 6.7-metre (22 ft) tide, and
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1696-428: The age of 18 living with them, 38.8% were married couples living together, 11.2% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.9% had a male householder with no wife present, and 45.0% were non-families. 39.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 20.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.12 and the average family size was 2.80. The median age in
1749-516: The aim to build a railway between Debec, New Brunswick and Houlton, Maine . This was in hopes of completing a portion of the St. Andrews and Quebec Railway . In 1870, the Legislature of New Brunswick passed an Act, which authorized Charlotte County to issue debentures to pay a bonus of $ 15,000 to the HBRC in order to encourage it to complete the railway. The debenture could only be issued if authorized by
1802-574: The border. The longtime friendship between the towns was evident during the War of 1812 when the British military provided St. Stephen with a large supply of gunpowder for protection against the enemy Americans in Calais and the town elders gave the gunpowder to Calais for its Fourth of July celebrations. Every year, St. Stephen and Calais co-host a weeklong International Festival to celebrate their continued friendship. The Ganong Bros. Company continues to be
1855-547: The buildings of the Bug Death Chemical Co. On 29 January 1915, the St. Croix Water Power Company and the Sprague's Falls Manufacturing Company Limited petitioned for approval of a dam and power canal and the obstruction, diversion, and use of the waters of the St. Croix River at Grand Falls. The state of Maine and the province of New Brunswick both decided on this matter, as it would affect both communities equally. The decision
1908-601: The city also has had direct access to New Brunswick Route 1 , a controlled-access freeway that begins at the Canada–US border and runs east through Saint John to a junction with the Trans-Canada Highway . West's Bus Service operates a bus service between Calais and Bangor . Calais Regional Hospital (CRH) currently has 15 acute care beds and 10 swing beds, in addition to a 24-hour physician staffed emergency department. It serves northeastern Washington County with an approximate population of 14,000 from Topsfield to
1961-538: The city has a total area of 40.10 square miles (103.86 km ), of which 34.32 square miles (88.89 km ) is land and 5.78 square miles (14.97 km ) is water. Calais is located at the head of tide on the St. Croix River . Recently, the City of Calais acquired Devil's Head. The site comprises 318 acres (129 ha) of land, 1-mile (1.6 km) of frontage on the St. Croix River estuary, and 0.6 miles (0.97 km) of frontage on U.S. Route 1 . Significant features on
2014-549: The city was 45.3 years. 19.7% of residents were under the age of 18; 9.9% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 20% were from 25 to 44; 29.9% were from 45 to 64; and 20.5% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.3% male and 51.7% female. The City of Calais operates under the council-manager form of government. The current city manager is Michael Ellis. Some past city managers include: William Bridgeo , Nancy Orr, Nicholas Mull, Linda Pagels, Mark Ryckman , Diane Barnes and James Porter. The current city mayor
2067-471: The city. The population density was 91.0 inhabitants per square mile (35.1/km ). There were 1,737 housing units at an average density of 50.6 per square mile (19.5/km ). The racial makeup of the city was 95.5% White , 0.5% African American , 1.3% Native American , 0.6% Asian , 0.4% from other races , and 1.7% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.4% of the population. There were 1,403 households, of which 25.3% had children under
2120-510: The constitutional authority to authorise a tax to support the building of an international railway, as that would intrude on the exclusive legislative authority of the Parliament of Canada. In 1873, the Supreme Court of New Brunswick ruled that the provincial taxation statute was unconstitutional, because it intruded on federal jurisdiction over inter-jurisdictional railways. The supporters of
2173-481: The first sawmill in 1782. On June 27, 1789, the Massachusetts General Court sold the township to Waterman Thomas for 19¢ an acre (0.4 hectares) (approx. $ 2.86 an acre in 2018 dollars). Early occupations in the settlement included farming , hunting and ship building . On June 16, 1809, Plantation Number 5 PS was incorporated as Calais after Calais , France , in honor of French assistance during
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2226-649: The marine trade is minute for this reason. Calais is connected to St. Stephen by the Ferry Point International Bridge , Milltown International Bridge and the newest bridge at the International Avenue Border Crossing , which began construction in 2008 and officially opened January 2010. Until it was discontinued, passenger rail service was once housed in St. Stephen at the Canadian Pacific Railway station. The building
2279-514: The neighboring Canadian town of St. Stephen has been remarkably close, over a period of many years. As evidence of the longtime friendship between the towns, during the War of 1812, the British military provided St. Stephen with a large supply of gunpowder for protection against the enemy Americans in Calais, but St. Stephen's town elders gave the gunpowder to Calais for its Fourth of July celebrations. Calais
2332-487: The neighboring towns in Canada. It is equipped with state-of-the-art security equipment that allows for efficient processing of both commercial and passenger vehicles. The new facility is occupied by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and U.S. General Services Administration (GSA). This facility was built as part of GSA's high-performance green building program and has received
2385-533: The north, Wesley to the west, and Eastport to the south. CRH is the largest employer in Calais, employing more than 200 people. The hospital is licensed by the State of Maine. Calais has a full-time police , fire , and EMS department. The Ferry Point International Bridge and the Milltown International Bridge connect Calais to St. Stephen, New Brunswick , Canada. Construction began in 2008 on
2438-542: The property include a 340-foot (100 m) high granite headland towering over the estuary, a low-tide sand and boulder beach, upland forest, and abundant wildlife. Trail construction was completed in 2003. Calais is the northern terminus of the East Coast Greenway , which has its southern terminus in Key West, Florida . As of the census of 2010, there were 3,123 people, 1,403 households, and 771 families residing in
2491-654: The railway measure appealed the case to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council , at that time the court of last resort for Canada within the British Empire . The Judicial Committee, in the case of Dow v Black , allowed the appeal and held that the taxation statute was within provincial authority. In 1877, St. Stephen's business district was almost destroyed by fire when eighty buildings and 13 wharves burned. Prior to World War II , St. Stephen's local economy
2544-442: The town's most significant employer. Other employers with factories are located along Progress Avenue, and include flakeboard and resin manufacture, a machine shop, a bottler, a marine environmental remediation business, and a cannabis products manufacturer. The town has a wide variety of small businesses, a list of which can be found in the local business directory. St. Stephen has three media organizations: two radio stations and
2597-517: Was due to the replacement of a trestle bridge in Dennis Stream with culvert pipes. In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada , St. Stephen had a population of 4,510 living in 2,073 of its 2,278 total private dwellings, a change of 2.2% from its 2016 population of 4,415 . With a land area of 13.72 km (5.30 sq mi), it had a population density of 328.7/km (851.4/sq mi) in 2021. The climate
2650-522: Was heavily based in the lumber and ship building industry. At the end of the 18th century, there were no less than one hundred various dry docks and slips along the river, shared by the cities of Calais and St. Stephen. Prominent families in the area, such as the Merchies and the Todds, ran much of the town's economy due to the monopoly they had on the St. Croix River system. Lumbering companies were located along both
2703-470: Was made 9 November 1915. The new factory began operation in 1922. The factory was water powered from Dennis Stream and the original Hercules water turbine was still in use. In 1930, the factory became a victim of the Great Depression, but managed to continue until 1943 at which time the business finally closed. In the 1970s, the municipalities of St. Stephen and Milltown joined together to become what
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#17330852539592756-518: Was pillaged and plundered. After the Raid on St. Stephen, Church moved on to raid other Acadian villages in the Raid on Grand Pré , the Raid on Piziquid, and the Raid on Chignecto . St. Stephen was officially incorporated as a town in 1871. Immediately prior to Confederation, the Legislature of New Brunswick passed a bill that incorporated the Houlton Branch Railway Company (HBRC) with
2809-643: Was the county seat until the county system was replaced in the 1960s, and thus was the location for the courthouse and gaol for the region, until the courthouse moved to St Stephen. In 2015, the province proposed to remove those functions entirely to Saint John. St. Stephen can be described as government town, with large offices for federal government services such as Canada Post and Canada Border Services Agency , provincial government services such as Service New Brunswick , and municipal government services such as Solid Waste and Zoning. Education in St. Stephen includes 4 public schools and 1 private school: The town
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