The Town of Madawaska grew from the settlement of Acadian families along the St. John River beginning in the mid-1780s. It remained a predominantly agricultural community through the nineteenth century. Though the town had boasted sawmills and carding mills, it entered the industrial era with the arrival of the Fraser Company in 1925. The center of the town gradually shifted from Saint David to the area of the mill and the international bridge. The image depicts the area of Main Street near the mill. Cyr's Apartment House and a Ford service station appear on the left.

The card has no postmark. On other cards in the American Art Post Card series, the digits on the front represent the item number rather than the year; that may also be the case of "1936" as it appears on this item. Still, according to the car models, the photograph was likely taken in the late 1930s or early 1940s.