FORT KENT

town, Aroostook county, northern Maine, U.S. It lies at the confluence of the St. John and Fish rivers, 50 miles (80 km) north-northwest of Presque Isle, and includes the communities of Fort Kent and Fort Kent Mills. The town is a port of entry linked by international bridge to Clair, N.B., Can. Settled in 1825 by French Acadian refugees, it was incorporated in 1869 and took its name from Fort Kent, a blockhouse built in 1839. The community developed as a potato-processing, farming, and lumbering centre. It is the terminus of U.S. Highway 1 from Key West, Fla., and is a gateway to the wilderness watershed areas of northern Maine; it has hunting, fishing, canoeing, and skiing facilities. The University of Maine at Fort Kent originated in 1878 as a teacher-training school. Area 54 square miles (140 square km). Pop. (1990) 4,268; (1996 est.) 3,808.