Aroostook County Geography

Geography

Aroostook is the northernmost county in Maine. It is bordered on the south by Somerset, Piscataquis, Penobscott, and Washington counties; on the north and east by the Canadian province of New Brunswick; and on the west by the province of Quebec.

Ranges, Townships, and Plantations

Aroostook county is laid out in a grid-like fashion. Ranges run north and south, and are numbered westward from the eastern border of the state (up to range 17). Each range is made up of townships, which are numbered from south to north (up to township 20, although, because of the irregularity of the shape of Aroostook county, not all ranges contain 20 townships). The township numbers for the ranges in Aroostook county are:

Ranges 1-2: Townships are not numbered (see below)
Ranges 3-5: Townships 1-18
Ranges 6-7: Townships 9-18
Range 8: Townships 9-17
Range 9: Townships 11-17
Range 10: Townships 11-18
Range 11: Townships 11-20
Range 12: Townships 11-19
Range 13: Townships 11-18
Range 14: Townships 11-17
Range 15: Townships 11-15
Range 16: Townships 11-14
Range 17: Townships 11-12

A specific township in a specific range may have been named a plantation. Some plantations were given names (such as Range 6, Township 9: "Oxbow Plantation"), while others (in ranges 1 and 2) were given simple letter designations (such as "Letter D Plantation"). Oftentimes these names were derived from villages that were established within them, which can cause some confusion -- Van Buren village, for example, is different from Van Buren Plantation. All others are referred to (in census records, etc) simply by their range/township numbers (such as Range 9, Township 16).

Maps

The following sites relate to maps of Aroostook county:

Aroostook and Surrounding Counties
Towns of Aroostook County -- Aroostook County GenWeb collection
Cemeteries of Aroostook County -- Aroostook County GenWeb collection
Map of Washburn -- including Mapleton, Castle Hill, and Wade Plantations
Old Maine Maps Available -- Commercial site featuring a good selection of Aroostook County maps
All the geographical features in Aroostook County
more Maine Maps that are available on-line from Rootsweb
US geological survey maps of Maine -- a clickable map (1930s) to zero in on specific areas

Related Pages on this site

The names of the villages, plantations, towns, and range/townships -- past and present -- are collected together into the Towns page, in the hopes of making it more convenient for the reader to find information related to specific area within Aroostook county. The page also includes links to sites specific to each town.

We've also collected together the names of the known cemeteries in Aroostook county on the Cemeteries page.

Similarly, we've collected together the names of the known churches in Aroostook county on the Churches page.

This page last updated Friday, 22-Apr-2016 22:41:55 MDT.

Additional map sites to suggest? Please mail them to the Aroostook County GenWeb co-ordinator