Into the Heart of Maine: A Look at Dexter’s Franco-American Community

Abstract

The study of French-Canadian immigration is generally centered around New England ’5larger cities; small towns receiving migrants are usually overlooked. This article examines the French-Canadian population in one such rural town. Dexter, Maine, serves as a microcosm of the larger “petits canadas ” throughout New England, but it also projects a different type of ethnic experience. Dorothy A. Blanchard discusses the rewards and the hardships of the Franco experience in rural Maine.