Town file
Caribou, Maine
Caribou, Maine (Aroostook County, Maine) is the town in one episode of Small Town Murder, the comedy true-crime podcast: episode 363, "The Psycho Samurai" (16 February 2023). Caribou, Maine, is the most north-eastern city in the United States, a potato-shipping town in Aroostook County about three hours from Bangor.
- Town
- Caribou
- County
- Aroostook County
- State
- Maine
- Country
- USA
- Episodes
- 363
- Approximate location
- 46.837, -67.936
Episode 363 / 16 February 2023 / 171 min / full
The Psycho Samurai
"We're going to Caribou, Maine... this is the way up there... Aroostook County... the most northeastern city in the United States" about 0:05:39
The case: Murder of Gary Nadeau (September 15, 1978). Read the case file.
The figures, as told in 2023
- Population
- 7,622
- Median age
- 46.7
- Median household income
- $35,764 a month
- Median home value
- $109,800
- Two-bedroom rent
- $755 a month
- Cost of living
- 75
- Religious
- 46%
- Property crime
- ▼ about one third under
- Violent crime
- ▼ about half
History, in brief
- Lumbermen and trappers set up the first camps in the 1810s, and the first settlers arrived in the 1820s. about 0:07:23
- Between 1838 and 1840 an undeclared war, the Aroostook War, was fought between the United States and Canada. about 0:07:23
- The Battle of Caribou was fought in December 1838. about 0:07:39
- The dispute over the international border delayed settlement of the area until a treaty was signed. about 0:08:15
- The town was first called Linden, changed to Caribou in 1869, changed back to Linden, and then changed back to Caribou. about 0:08:22
- In the 1960s Caribou was the largest potato shipping hub in the world. about 0:09:16
- In September 1984 Caribou was the launch site for the first successful solo balloon crossing of the Atlantic, by Colonel Joseph Kittinger. about 0:09:29
- The flight is memorialised by the Rosy O'Grady Balloon of Peace Park on Main Street, which includes a large replica of the balloon. about 0:10:02
The reviews read out
5 stars
"A lifelong resident loves the town dearly and calls it beautiful, with very kind people always willing to lend a helping hand."about 0:10:31
4 stars
"Caribou is a good town; the reviewer, Kurt, rambles about needing educated people to embrace a new administration and provide jobs, and about farmers, online education and new technology bringing a better quality of life."about 0:11:26
3 stars
"A small town with not much to do, especially for older people, but the emptiness can be good: it is quiet, and watching the sunset and sunrise is peaceful."about 0:13:18
3 stars
"The area is beautiful but there is little to do; school sports are huge and it is hard to make a name without extra-curricular activities, and drug use among high-school kids is very common."about 0:14:25
Nearest Small Town Murder towns
- Amity, Maine64 miles
- Old Town, Maine136 miles
- Carmel, Maine150 miles
- Hartland, Maine154 miles
- Machiasport, Maine155 miles
- Fayette, Maine195 miles
Everything here is as told in the episode, on the date it went out; figures and places may have changed since. Endings are covered: open an episode and use the spoiler switch to read them.