The Republic of Indian Stream was a small, self-declared republic in North America that existed from July 9, 1832 to 1835. Described as Indian Stream Territory so-called by the U.S. census taker in 1830, the area was named for Indian Stream, a small river, and had an organized government and constitution, which served about 300 citizens.

It was essentially the result of the ambigious boundary between the United States and Canada. The reason for the ambiguity was that there were three possible options for the "the northernmost head of the Connecticut River." As a result, the area in and around the three tributaries that fed into the head of the Connecticut River was not particularly under the jurisdiction of either the U.S. or Canada. The Republic covered the entire top of what is now the state of New Hampshire, Lake Francis and the four Connecticut Lakes.

The republic ceased to operate independently in 1835, when the New Hampshire militia occupied the area. Canada relinquished claim in January 1836, U.S. jurisdiction was acknowledged around May 1836. Still described as Indian Stream at the time of the 1840 U.S. Census taken June 1, 1840, the local population totalled 315. The area was incorporated as Pittsburg in 1840. Pittsburg, in Coos County, is the largest township in the U.S., at 300,000 acres (1,200 km²), or 282.3 square miles of land area and 9.0 square miles of inland water area.

In 1842, the land dispute was definitively resolved by the Webster-Ashburton Treaty and the land was assigned to New Hampshire.

External link

• Historic USGS Maps of New England & New York: Indian Stream, NH-VT Quadrangle

See also

• Aroostook War
• Caroline Affair