Permanent settlement on the Fish River began in the late 1820s. During the Aroostook War, settlers built a blockhouse to defend the area and assert U.S. sovereignty. They incorporated the settlement as a town on February 23, 1869, naming both the blockhouse and town after Governor Edward Kent.

In 1956, Rose Nadeau snapped this photograph on West Main Street, close to the international bridge. No explanation was given for the large number of cars and the crowd assembling on the left. The offices of the Great Northern Paper Company appeared at the center.