In the 19th and early 20th centuries, Franco-Americans settled in Central Maine mainly from Quebec counties bordering Maine, such as Beauce and Frontenac, and later from Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and more remote Quebec counties including those on the Gaspe Peninsula. Although they came for varied reasons, most sought work in the mill towns along Maine's principal rivers. In Waterville, most lived in the neighborhoods called the Flats and the Plains, settling along the river close to their workplace. Entire families and individuals arrived on foot and in horse-drawn buggies, and after the Civil War a few came by train.