Aroostook is a Canadian

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 village in Victoria County

Victoria County, New Brunswick

Victoria County is located in northwestern New Brunswick, Canada. Farming, especially of potatoes, is the major industry in the county.-Communities:...

, New Brunswick

New Brunswick

New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...

.

The village is located on the west bank of the Saint John River at the mouth of the Aroostook River

Aroostook River

The Aroostook River is a tributary of the Saint John River in the U.S. state of Maine and the Canadian province of New Brunswick. Its basin is the largest sub-drainage of the St. John River....

. It is approximately 11 kilometres north of Perth-Andover

Perth-Andover, New Brunswick

Perth-Andover is a Canadian village in Victoria County, New Brunswick.The village is divided by the Saint John River with Perth on the east bank and Andover on the west bank; each was a separate community until municipal amalgamation in 1966...

.

Aroostook was founded in 1852 and became an important railway centre in 1878 with the completion of the New Brunswick Railway

New Brunswick Railway

The New Brunswick Railway was a historic Canadian railway operating in western New Brunswick. Its headquarters were in Woodstock.The original NBR lines were built to the narrow gauge of...

 from Fredericton to Edmundston and the Aroostook River Railway from Aroostook to Caribou

Caribou, Maine

Caribou is the second largest city in Aroostook County, Maine, United States. Its population was 8,189 at the 2010 census.-History:Between 1838 and 1839, the undeclared Aroostook War flared between the United States and Canada, and the Battle of Caribou occurred in December 1838...

, Maine

Maine

Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...

. Both railways were leased by the Canadian Pacific Railway

Canadian Pacific Railway

The Canadian Pacific Railway , formerly also known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a historic Canadian Class I railway founded in 1881 and now operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001...

 (CPR) in 1890 and a large rail yard and locomotive roundhouse

Roundhouse

A roundhouse is a building used by railroads for servicing locomotives. Roundhouses are large, circular or semicircular structures that were traditionally located surrounding or adjacent to turntables...

 was constructed in the village to service CPR trains operating in northwestern New Brunswick and northern Maine.

The construction of taxpayer-funded highways during the 20th century saw railways decline in use following World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

. CPR abandoned service through Aroostook in March 1987 following the loss of 2 bridges to ice jams downstream from the village.