The North Branch Dead River is a 19.3 miles (31.1 km) tributary of the Dead River in Franklin County

Franklin County, Maine

Franklin County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maine. As of 2010, the population was 30,768. Its county seat is Farmington.Franklin County was established on 9 May 1838.-Geography:...

, Maine

Maine

Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...

. It is paralleled by Maine State Route 27

Maine State Route 27

State Route 27 is part of Maine's system of numbered state highways, running from the village of Newagen in Southport to the Canadian Border in Coburn Gore...

.

From the outflow of Lower Pond (45.3135°N 70.6256 °W) in Chain of Ponds (Maine Township 2, Range 6, WBKP), the river runs southeast to Eustis

Eustis, Maine

Eustis is a town in Franklin County, Maine, United States. The population was 685 at the 2000 census. Eustis, which includes the village of Stratton, is a popular recreation area.-History:...

, where its confluence with the South Branch

South Branch Dead River

The South Branch Dead River is a tributary of the Dead River in Franklin County, Maine.From the outflow of Saddleback Lake below Saddleback Mountain, the river runs northeast to Eustis, where its confluence with the North Branch of the Dead River was drowned by the impoundment of Flagstaff Lake...

 of the Dead River was drowned by the impoundment of Flagstaff Lake

Flagstaff Lake (Maine)

Flagstaff Lake is located in Somerset County and Franklin County, Maine in the United States. The North Branch Dead River and South Branch Dead River join in the lake, forming the Dead River....

 in 1950.

The Dead River played a role in the American Revolution

American Revolution

The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...

. In the fall of 1775 then newly-commissioned Colonel Benedict Arnold

Benedict Arnold

Benedict Arnold V was a general during the American Revolutionary War. He began the war in the Continental Army but later defected to the British Army. While a general on the American side, he obtained command of the fort at West Point, New York, and plotted to surrender it to the British forces...

 led a force of over 1000 men on a grueling trip through Maine, as part of the invasion of Canada. Ascending the Kennebec in bateau

Bateau

A bateau or batteau is a shallow-draft, flat-bottomed boat which was used extensively across North America, especially in the colonial period and in the fur trade. It was traditionally pointed at both ends but came in a wide variety of sizes...

x, they portage

Portage

Portage or portaging refers to the practice of carrying watercraft or cargo over land to avoid river obstacles, or between two bodies of water. A place where this carrying occurs is also called a portage; a person doing the carrying is called a porter.The English word portage is derived from the...

d around the rapids of the lower Dead River, and proceeded up the North Branch, through the Chain of Ponds to Arnold Pond in Coburn Gore (T.2/3 R.6 WBKP), and across the height of land to Quebec

Quebec

Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....

's Chaudière River

Chaudière River

The Chaudière River is a long river with its source near the Town of Lac-Mégantic, in southeast Quebec, Canada. From its source Lake Megantic in the Chaudière-Appalaches region, it runs northwards to flow into the St. Lawrence River opposite Quebec City...

.