The stretch of the St. John River between Van Buren and St. David was the first area settled by Acadian and French-Canadian families that traveled upriver in the 1780s. From its farming roots, Van Buren developed into an important regional milling center; thanks to the St. John Lumber Company, it eventually boasted the "largest long lumber mill east of the Mississippi." The construction of St. Mary's College also drew people to the area. The postcard shows the development of a small urban core at the beginning of the twentieth century.

The card was printed in Germany on behalf of George E. Watson of Van Buren, who owned a store and at one time was involved in the glassware business. The year is given by a postmark. The inscription is barely legible; it mentions the New Haven-based Yale Forest School, which was founded in 1900.