Two million New Englanders are French-Canadian or Acadian descendants, and yet they remain among the least known historic immigrant communities. Researcher David Vermette’s talk, “Another Border: French-Canadian Emigration to New England,” will place these late 19th and early 20th century immigrants in a broad historical context that includes the early French presence in North America; the events after the Civil War that drew French-Canadians to the textile industry in particular; and the little-known story of the opposition and conspiracy-mongering they faced, on a national level, when they arrived.

David Vermette is the author of the book A Distinct Alien Race: The Untold Story of Franco-Americans (Montreal: Baraka Books, 2018). He is a writer, editor, researcher, blogger, and frequent speaker on the subject of New England’s Franco-Americans. Vermette was born and raised in Massachusetts.

This event will take place in the Community Room, with limited seating, and simultaneously streamed over Zoom. For a link to the Zoom event, please email elewis@rocklandmaine.gov by 4:00 p.m. on April 21 and identify the event you are interested in attending in the subject line.