During the early colonial period, Madawaska was a meeting place and hunting/fishing area for the Maliseet (Wolastoqiyik) nation.

The final border between the two countries was established with the Webster-Ashburton Treaty of 1842, which gave Maine most of the disputed area, and gave the British a militarily vital connection between the province of Quebec and the province of New Brunswick.

[4][5] Madawaska is a rural town whose economy centers on the Saint John River paper industry.

The river historically provided water power for the mills and was the route of log drives bringing pulpwood from upstream forests.

The river still provides the water supply for paper manufacture, but environmental concerns encourage pulpwood delivery by highway and rail.

[6] Canadian corporation Twin Rivers (originally Fraser Papers) has a large facility located in Madawaska which processes the pulp produced by the mill's other plant in Edmundston.

The pulp is shipped across the border through a mile-long high pressure pipeline running between both facilities, and is made into paper in Madawaska.

The town's economy is highly dependent upon cross-border trade, to the extent that Madawaska and its larger sister city of Edmundston are considered by residents under many aspects, a single economic entity.

[7] Madawaska is also home to the St. John Valley Times, a popular weekly newspaper circulated across Aroostook County.

Four Corners Park commemorates its location as the most northeastern town in the contiguous United States.