Today in Maine’s Franco History: January 16

Today in Maine’s Franco History is a look back at important dates in the history of Maine’s Franco-American communities. It will run throughout 2020, the bicentennial year of Maine’s statehood. Your suggestions for additional events, people, and institutions to celebrate are most welcome.

January 16, 1925: First edition of La Justice de Sanford published. It was one of many smaller French-language papers published in Maine. Publishers and managers associated with La Justice de Sanford included Leo Doyon, Florence Maheau, Lionel LaFrance and Moses Baribeau. The paper ceased publishing in 1945.

Publisher’s information from the February 25, 1925 edition of La Justice de Sanford.

James Myall

About James Myall

While I currently work for an Augusta-based non-profit, I spent four years as the Coordinator of the Franco-American Collection at the University of Southern Maine. In 2015, I co-authored "The Franco-Americans of Lewiston-Auburn," a general history of that population from 1850 to the present. I was also a consultant for the State Legislative Task Force on Franco-Americans in 2012. I live in Topsham with my wife and two young daughters.