Maine's Swedish Colony, July 23, 1870

In 1858 Aroostook County Maine had a great chance of being the largest state to produce potatoes in the country. All they needed was a train to transport them. Ironically they had made a small railroad that connected to other states and it even ran through Canada.

For years they were unable to build their own railroad because no one outside the state believed it would work. But on December 18, 1890, Albert Berleigh said that they should raise their own funds and build their own railroad. In two months the Aroostook Railroad had been organized.

In 1891 former Bangor railroads the were attached to the track. The rail ran from Bangor, went north to Houlton, and then to the border of Canada at New Brunswick. The rail continued north to Madawaska, running through Presque Isle, Caribou, New Sweden, Stockholm, and Van Buren. In 1892 the route from Houlton to Van Buren, Fort Fairfield, and Ashland was completed. As a result of building the Aroostook railroad, the Aroostook Construction Company was formed. At the time they were just building the railroad. Considering the amount of stocks that had been sold they had enough money to complete the project.

The Bangor and Aroostook, or B&A, had train stations in New Sweden Station, Jempland, and Stockholm. Passengers rode the train to shop. High school students would ride the passenger train to attend high school in nearby Caribou. The booming businesses in Stockholm relied on the train to transport manufactured goods out to market.

A second line was built into New Sweden. It was an electric railroad known as the Aroostook Valley Rail Road, or AVR. It also had its own train station. You could travel from New Sweden to Woodland to Caribou to Presque Isle and return.