Skip to main content

America's First Mile - US 1 - Fort Kent, Maine

Image
By

 


US Route 1 begins quietly alongside the St. John River in Fort Kent, Maine, next to the Clair-Fort Kent Bridge, an international bridge that crosses the river into Clair, New Brunswick, Canada. US 1 passes through some of the largest and most important cities in the United States from Mile 0 at its southern end in Key West, Florida, following the Fall Line as it makes its way up the Atlantic Seaboard during its journey of 2,369 miles. Once US 1 reaches this remote corner of Aroostook County in northern Maine, there is just a small park that honors Fort Kent's role in the greater scheme of the highway system in the United States. Fort Kent is known for a few things outside of being America's First Mile of US 1, with a strong Acadian heritage where many area residents are bilingual in French and English, and being a popular venue for biathlon competitions. However, it is US 1 that ties Fort Kent in with the rest of the country.


Flanked by the American, Canadian, Maine, and Acadian flags, the America's First Mile Monument was erected in 2010 to honor where US 1 begins. The granite monument was designed by a local graphic artist named Heidi Carter and replaced a wooden sign that was nearby. The slogan of "America's First Mile" was the brainchild of businessman John Freeman who worked with the Marketing Fort Kent Advisory Committee to secure funding and interest in a new monument near the bridge leading to Canada. The monument features a park where you can learn about Fort Kent and US 1, plus a staircase that leads to a berm that allows you to see across the St. John Valley. 


I visited the America's First Mile monument in July 2014, at a time when the international bridge was in the process of being replaced. I came across the monument during the end of a trip up US 1 from Houlton, expecting to see the old wooden sign, but saw the monument instead.

The first mile of US 1 extends from the bridge to the Daigle-Dube House (or just Dube House as seen on the monument), one of the most prominent and historic houses in Fort Kent. Continue down US 1 to the northeastern corner of the United States near Madawaska before starting the long journey down south.

The centerpiece of the America's First Mile monument.

The monument marks the beginning of US 1, which was originally 2,446 miles south of Key West. Over the years as parts of US 1 were moved onto different roads, the number of miles that make up US 1 had changed.

Over at the Northern Door Inn, which is just on the other side of the street, they have their own signs indicating the beginning of US 1 in Fort Kent, Maine.

Along with the ending of US 1.

Beyond the international bridge, you can continue straight onto ME 161, which goes to Allagash, Maine. If you cross the bridge into New Brunswick, you can take either NB 161 or NB 205 once you get into Clair. To complicate matters, if you turn around, you can take ME 161 or US 1 to Caribou, Maine. The America's First Mile Monument is just beyond the second building to the right, or just the first building now (the building housing the bistro is no longer standing).

At the time of my visit, the steel truss bridge in the background across the St. John River between Fort Kent, Maine and Clair, New Brunswick was being replaced with the newer international bridge in the foreground. A walk up the staircase to the berm from the monument will lead you to this view.


How to Get There:



Sources and Links:
Atlas Obscura - America's First Mile
Federal Highway Administration - U.S. 1: Fort Kent, Maine to Key West, Florida
Bangor Daily News - America’s First Mile dedicated in Fort Kent (November 14, 2010)
Route 1 Views - America's First Mile - The Top of Route 1
The Historical Marker Database - America's First Mile
Labels:
Location: 341 W Main St, Fort Kent, ME 04743, USA

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

I-40 rockslide uncovers old debates on highway

By
The Asheville Citizen-Times continues to do a great job covering all the angles of the Interstate 40 Haywood County rock slide. An article in Sunday's edition provides a strong historical perspective on how the Pigeon River routing of Interstate 40 came about. And perhaps most strikingly, in an article that ran just prior to the highway's opening in the fall of 1968, how engineers from both Tennessee and North Carolina warned "...that slides would probably be a major problem along the route for many years." On February 12, 1969, not long after the Interstate opened, the first rock slide that would close I-40 occurred. Like many other Interstates within North Carolina, Interstate 40 through the mountains has a history prior to formation of the Interstate Highway System and was also a heated political battle between local communities. The discussion for a road that would eventually become Interstate 40 dates back to the 1940's as the idea for interregional high
2 comments
Read more

Mines Road

By
Mines Road is an approximately twenty-eight-mile highway located in the rural parts of the Diablo Range east of the San Francisco Bay Area.  Mines Road begins in San Antonio Valley in Santa Clara County and terminates at Tesla Road near Livermore of Alameda County.  The highway essentially is a modern overlay of the 1840s Mexican haul trail up Arroyo Mocho known as La Vereda del Monte.  The modern corridor of Mines Road took shape in the early twentieth century following development of San Antonio Valley amid a magnesite mining boom.  Part 1; the history of Mines Road Modern Mines Road partially overlays the historic corridor used by La Vereda del Monte (Mountain Trail).  La Vereda del Monte was part of a remote overland route through the Diablo Range primarily used to drive cattle from Alta California to Sonora.  The trail was most heavily used during the latter days of Alta California during the 1840s. La Vereda del Monte originated at Point of Timber between modern day Byron and Bre
Post a Comment
Read more

Former California State Route 41 past Bates Station

By
When California State Route 41 was commissioned during August 1934 it was aligned along the then existing Fresno-Yosemite Road north of the San Joaquin River.  Within the Sierra Nevada foothills of Madera County, the original highway alignment ran past Bates Station via what is now Madera County Road 209, part of eastern Road 406 and Road 207.   Bates Station was a stage station plotted during the early 1880s at what was the intersection of the Coarsegold Road and Stockton-Los Angeles Road.   The modern alignment bypassing Bates Station to the east would be reopened to traffic during late 1939.   Part 1; the history of California State Route 41 past Bates Station Bates Station was featured as one of the many 1875-1899 Madera County era towns in the May 21, 1968, Madera Tribune .  Post Office Service at Bates Station is noted to have been established on November 23, 1883 and ran continuously until October 31, 1903.  The postal name was sourced from Bates Station owner/operator George Ba
Post a Comment
Read more