The first European settlement in the area was made on St. Croix Island in 1604 by a French party that included Samuel de Champlain. The French named the area Acadia, and  wasted no time deforesting the lush north country forests, cutting millions of trees in their first years on the continent. French and English settlers would contest central Maine until the 1750s, when the French were defeated in the French and Indian War  The real losers of course, were the indigenous peoples who had occupied the area for millennia.

Join us as we review and share first hand accounts from the original settlers themselves.