St. John Valley Cultural Byway/Fish River Scenic Byway

A dynamic view of the 14-foot marble cross on the National Register of Historic Places at the Acadian Landing Site with flying Acadian flag next to the St. John River honoring the region’s early Acadian and French- Canadian settlement and endurance of French faith and culture in the region.

An aerial view of the Acadian Village/ Village acadien Historical Site in late spring showing the full site with close to 20 historic homes and other buildings of vibrant colors embraced by trees on three sides and U.S. Route 1 on its north side.

An 18-wheeler logging truck with a deep red cab filled to capacity with large logs in its trailer is on the road at the base of a small hill in Portage Lake on the southern end of the byway’s Route 11. American flags fly from telephone poles.

Historic photograph, circa early 20C, of 10 men with four horses in front of a lumber camp – a hand-hewn log cabin, surrounded by trees in the deep snow of mid-winter. A loghauling sled on the ground waits to be hitched to horses to transport logs from forest to market.

Close-up of colored, handcarved wooden panel by Tom Côté about logging in winter of times past in Portage Lake. Two horses pull a sleigh of logs through the snow, men saw a tree together by hand, and a group eats a meal next to a fire in a tree.

Close-up shot of a dozen vibrant red, yellow, green and blue colored antique chainsaws on four wooden shelves in the collection of more than 300 chainsaws in Louie’s Antique Chainsaw Museum in Allagash. Of varying sizes, their former use is evident from slight dents and worn areas of the paint.

Four men in a traditional batteau navigating the shallows on the St. John River during the Acadian Festival to celebrate centuries of logging and river drives and the arrival of early Acadian and French Canadian settlers to the St. John Valley.

Exterior front of Allagash Historical Society Museum, a dark cedar color log cabin with museum sign above the door and to its side, a St. John Valley Cultural Byway sign. American flags fly at the building’s corners and to the east is one of two byway wayside interpretative exhibits.

A colorful wood sculpture carved by Blackie Cyr of St. David, of a woman from days past with a long green skirt seated next to a dark blue spinning wheel and red yarn/skein winder, featured in one of many exhibitions presented by the Acadian Archives.

Local historian Guy Dubay, a frequent visitor of the Archives, is seated with a book in front of him called “Souvenir Album” from Grand Isle’s Homecoming event while showing how children used to write with two pens “I will not speak French in school,” as a punishment in the 1900s.

Acadian Landing Site on the shore of the St. John River commemorates the arrival of early Acadian and French Canadian settlers with a 14-foot white marble cross set in a platform of river rock. Close by is an Acadian flag and small granite monuments that honor French ancestors.

A seated audience enjoys a traditional Soirée de Bon Vieux Temps (evening of the good old days) at the Musée culturel du Mont- Carmel with local musicians performing old and new songs in an intimate setting in the former chapel with high ceilings, original confessionals, altar, and religious sculptures.

Front and side view showing the majestic Musée culturel du Mont- Carmel, a former Catholic Church, painted in its original green color with white and ochre trim and large clear windows with three main doors. Seven-foot trumpeting angels sit on top of two large 80-foot towers with open cupolas.

Front exterior view of the 1790 hand-hewn log Roy House at the Acadian Village/ Village acadien with two small paned windows low to the ground on either side of front entrance and an overhang roof attached to the south side to protect a stack of firewood.

Entrance to the Acadian Archives/Archives acadiennes located on the campus of the University of Maine at Fort Kent with a large Acadian flag on the wall, a larger than life size sculpture of 1604 French explorer Samuel de Champlain and an open door to welcome students, researchers, and visitors.

Historic postcard of 1937 of close to a dozen altar boys in white and black robes walking across the main street in Madawaska. A priest and over 100 parishioners are in a line behind them in the annual Procession Fête-Dieu (Feast of Christ the King).

More than 30 weather-worn and old white and grey stone grave markers of varying sizes, some bent due to winter frost, in the historic cemetery of Sainte-Luce Catholic Church in Frenchville. Several are shaped as a cross with a circle at the center bearing the names of early French families.

Side view of Sainte-Luce Catholic Church on a clear summer day with grave markers in the historic cemetery, its stone exterior a warm mottled brown color and the elegant silver colored steeple stretching high above the entrance.

Far reaching aerial view of the deep blue highway and undulating St. John River – the international boundary – looking westward on a beautiful summer day. US Route 1 hugs the river’s south shore winding by scattered buildings and a patchwork of greens.

Brian Theriault, a Métis of Native and French heritage, stands in the shallows of the St. John River with Canada behind. He wears a brimmed hat with turkey feather, traditional red and black Hudson Bay wool blanket jacket and carries traditional snowshoes, double bit axe and brown ash basket.

Looking westward at the gently curving St. John River on a warm summer day with calm water, river rocks, abundant vegetation, and trees along the shore. Canada is just 500 feet away. Superimposed images of traditional snowshoes, a crooked knife, and stone arrowhead honor indigenous Maliseet culture.

Front exterior of the Tante Blanche Museum, a dark red log building with a wooden ramp for access, and US and Acadian flags flying on either side of the main entrance. At the museum’s side are two wooden chainsaw sculptures of historic figures and a byway wayside interpretative exhibit.

Families gather holding banners of their family Coat of Arms at the Acadian Landing Site, some people in traditional costume to honor their Acadian and French-Canadian ancestry during the annual Acadian Festival.