Malaga Island, a name that might evoke images of sunny Spanish shores, actually resides in a far different locale, steeped in a unique history within the rugged beauty of the Maine coast. If you’re asking “Where Is Malaga”, prepare to discover a fascinating island with a compelling story, nestled in the northeastern United States. This article will guide you through the precise location of Malaga Island, delve into its rich, often poignant history, explore its natural features, and reveal what makes this small island such a significant place today.
Discovering the Geographical Location of Malaga Island
To pinpoint “where is Malaga”, we need to journey to the eastern reaches of Casco Bay in Maine. More specifically, Malaga Island is situated just off the coast of Phippsburg, a town known for its maritime heritage and stunning coastal landscapes. For those needing a broader reference, Phippsburg lies approximately 20 miles northeast of Portland, Maine’s largest city and a major hub in the region.
Malaga Island itself is a modest 42-acre landmass, sheltered and strategically positioned at the mouth of the New Meadows River. This location provides a relatively protected environment within the larger expanse of Casco Bay. Geographically, it’s part of a cluster of islands, with Bear Island a mere 100 yards to the west and the quaint fishing village of Sebasco just about 200 yards to the east. This proximity to both other islands and the mainland has played a crucial role in Malaga’s history and its connection to the surrounding communities.
To visualize “where is Malaga” even better, consider its broader context. Casco Bay is a sprawling inlet of the Gulf of Maine, characterized by hundreds of islands, peninsulas, and waterways. Malaga Island is one of these many gems, contributing to the intricate coastal tapestry that defines this part of Maine. The New Meadows River, despite its name, functions more like a tidal embayment due to the limited freshwater input. This tidal nature significantly shapes the environment around Malaga, influencing the marine life and the very landscape of the island, particularly the intertidal zones.
The name “Malaga” itself is intriguing in this New England setting. It is derived from the Abanaki Indian word for cedar, reflecting the natural vegetation that may have characterized the island. Historically, it was also known as “Mitchell’s Island” in the late 18th century, and even today, some locals affectionately refer to it as “Malago”. These different names hint at layers of history and cultural influences that have shaped the island’s identity.
A Journey Through Malaga Island’s Human History: From Indigenous Roots to a Forcibly Evicted Community
Understanding “where is Malaga” is not just about its geographical coordinates; it’s also about its place in time and the human stories intertwined with its land. Malaga Island’s human history is rich and complex, stretching back centuries and marked by both resilience and profound injustice.
Early Inhabitants and the Name “Malaga”
Archaeological evidence confirms that Native Americans inhabited Malaga Island within the last 1,000 years. A survey conducted by the University of Southern Maine unearthed findings that point to a pre-colonial presence. While specific details about their lives remain somewhat elusive, this discovery establishes Malaga as a place with a long history of human connection to the land and sea.
The Abanaki name connection to cedar (“Malaga”) suggests a deep understanding and relationship with the natural environment, typical of indigenous cultures. This naming tradition adds another layer to the island’s identity, predating European influence and connecting it to the ancient landscape of Maine.
The Mixed-Race Community and Benjamin Darling
The more recent and well-documented history of Malaga Island centers around a mixed-race community that thrived there from the mid-1800s until 1912. These were not newcomers; their ancestral roots in Maine often extended back 150 years or more. They were part of a larger pattern of families moving within and between island fishing communities in Casco Bay for nearly two centuries before a significant number settled on Malaga after the American Civil War. Some had previously lived on nearby islands like Bear, Yarmouth, and Sheep Islands, indicating a degree of mobility and adaptation within the coastal environment.
A key figure in this history is Benjamin Darling, an African man from the West Indies. His story is tinged with both hardship and agency. Arriving in Maine in the late 18th century with a Captain Darling, possibly as someone who was formerly enslaved, Benjamin played a role in establishing a saltworks in Phippsburg. Local legend recounts that in 1794, he was granted his freedom and given funds to purchase Horse Island (now known as Harbor Island), located just southeast of Malaga. His descendants became integral to the fabric of eastern Casco Bay island communities, including Malaga. The suggestion that Malaga’s name might also derive from a shipwrecked brig carrying timber from Malaga, Spain, adds another layer of intriguing, albeit less substantiated, origin to the island’s name.
Steve Mitchell, pictured here on Malaga Island, has been instrumental in bringing the history of the island to light.
Life on Malaga Island in the 19th Century
In 1818, Eli Perry, an early Phippsburg settler, purchased Malaga Island for a mere $150. However, records suggest that taxes were likely never paid on the property, a detail that would later become relevant in the islanders’ eviction. The first documented resident of this community, Henry Griffin, settled on the eastern side of the island around the 1860s.
Within a few years, a small but vibrant community took shape on Malaga. The Darling and Griffin families, both Black families whose members were born free in Maine, were among the first to establish homes. By 1880, the island’s population was 27, growing to 40 by 1900. Family names included Murphy, Dunning, Johnson, Eason, Marks, McKenney, and later, Tripp and Parker.
James McKenney, a Phippsburg native of Scotch-Irish descent, emerged as a leader and spokesperson for the Malaga community, largely due to his literacy. Known as the “King of Malaga” because of his role and fishing prowess, McKenney represented the community to the outside world. John Eason, a master mason and carpenter, served as a preacher, filling a spiritual need when mainland church services were inaccessible due to weather.
Malaga was a racially diverse community, comprising African-American, mixed-race, and white families, all generally poor and reliant on fishing. In a time when coastal land and islands elsewhere in Casco Bay were being sold for development, Malaga became a refuge for these families. They were drawn to the island’s relative isolation and the marine resources it offered.
Life on Malaga was inextricably linked to the sea. Islanders were skilled fishermen, initially catching groundfish using long-lines and nets from dories. As groundfish stocks declined, they adapted and turned to lobster fishing, which remains a vital part of Maine’s coastal economy today. They also netted herring for bait and income, gathered berries in the summer, and harvested clams from the tidal flats. The island’s soil was not conducive to extensive agriculture, but they cultivated small gardens to grow vegetables like potatoes, corn, and beans. Some islanders also sought seasonal work on the mainland at resorts and farms to supplement their income.
This hardscrabble existence was typical of many Maine coastal fishing communities of the time. By 1892, the Phippsburg pauper relief fund began to provide assistance to the Malaga residents during the lean winter months, highlighting their economic vulnerability and the community’s reliance on external support during challenging times.
The Eason family home, a testament to the community’s resourcefulness and self-sufficiency.
The McKenney residence, home of the community’s recognized leader.
The Tragic Eviction of 1912
The late 19th and early 20th centuries were periods of rising racial prejudice, nativism, and the eugenics movement in the United States. These societal trends had devastating consequences for marginalized communities, including the residents of Malaga Island. Rumors and sensationalized media accounts began to paint a distorted picture of the Malaga community. They were falsely depicted as escaped slaves or their descendants, and stereotyped as immoral, lazy, ignorant, and alcoholic. A particularly damaging article in the Casco Bay Breeze in 1905 labeled Malaga as “the Home of Southern Negro Blood… Incongruous Scenes on a spot of Natural Beauty in Casco Bay,” revealing the deeply ingrained racism of the era.
The modest living conditions on Malaga, typical for working-class fishing families, were deliberately misrepresented as squalor, supposedly offensive to wealthy summer visitors who were increasingly drawn to the Maine coast. Phippsburg residents, eager to capitalize on the burgeoning tourism industry to offset declines in shipbuilding and fishing, feared that Malaga’s presence would hinder their economic prospects.
Political maneuvering further sealed the community’s fate. A dispute arose between Phippsburg and Harpswell over the ownership of Malaga Island. In 1903, state legislators initially sided with Harpswell, but this decision was reversed in 1905, placing Malaga under the jurisdiction of Sagadahoc County and Phippsburg, and ultimately under the direct control of the Governor’s Executive Council. This shift solidified Phippsburg’s determination to remove the Malaga community.
Amidst this rising social and political pressure, missionary efforts also played a role, albeit with complex motivations. Sea-going missionaries George and Lucy Lane, and their daughter Cora, began visiting Malaga in 1906. They established the island’s first school in James McKenney’s house, driven by a desire to instill middle-class values and religious teachings. Their supporters formed the Malaga Island Settlement Association, raising funds to build a dedicated schoolhouse in 1909. While education was undoubtedly beneficial, it was also intertwined with assimilationist goals and a desire to change the community’s way of life.
Students of the Malaga Island school, a brief bright spot before the community’s forced removal.
Malaga’s schoolhouse, built in 1909, stood as a symbol of hope and progress, but ultimately could not save the community.
Despite positive reports about the school’s progress and the children’s education, the forces of prejudice and economic ambition proved too strong. On July 11, 1911, Governor Frederick Plaisted and state officials visited Malaga. Despite the Governor’s seemingly reassuring words to The Brunswick Record that “the people cannot be forced to leave their poor homes” after witnessing the school and community, the state was already set on eviction.
Within weeks, the state declared that the heirs of Eli Perry owned Malaga Island (a claim later found to be unsubstantiated by deeds). Eviction notices were issued, demanding the “Malagaites” (a derogatory term used at the time) to leave by July 1, 1912.
The eviction plan was brutal and systematic. State officials assessed each household, labeling eight residents as “feeble-minded” – primarily members of the Marks family – and forcibly institutionalizing them at the Home for the Feeble-Minded in New Gloucester (now Pineland). The state then purchased Malaga Island for a paltry $471 to prevent resettlement and offered minimal compensation to the remaining families, contingent on their departure by the deadline.
Some families managed to move their homes to the mainland or other islands, but for many, Malaga was their only home, and they faced destitution. Any buildings left standing after the eviction were razed, except for the schoolhouse, which was moved to Louds Island. In a final act of disregard, the graves of Malaga’s deceased were desecrated; bodies were exhumed and reinterred at the Pineland Cemetery in New Gloucester, far from their island home.
Governor Plaisted’s visit, a facade of concern masking the state’s intent to evict the community.
A stark marker at Pineland Cemetery, a silent testament to the displaced lives of Malaga Island’s inhabitants.
In 1913, Malaga Island was sold to Everard A. Wilson, connected to a state official involved in the eviction. Since then, the island has passed through various hands. Local fishermen continue to use it for storing gear, but no permanent structures have been rebuilt. Today, only remnants of stone-lined wells and the distant tombstones at Pineland serve as tangible reminders of the vibrant community that once called Malaga home. Lottie Marks Blackwell, one of the last residents evicted from Malaga, lived to be 103, passing away in 1997, carrying the memory of a lost community.
The Natural History of Malaga Island: Ecology and Environment
Beyond its poignant human history, “where is Malaga” is also defined by its natural environment. Malaga Island’s ecology is characteristic of the Maine coast, shaped by its geology, climate, and location within Casco Bay.
Geology and Topography
Malaga Island is part of a mid-coast Maine region marked by bedrock peninsulas and narrow estuaries. The New Meadows River, bordering Malaga, is more of an embayment with limited freshwater inflow. The tidal range in Casco Bay averages around 8.9 feet, significantly influencing the island’s intertidal zones. At low tide, a land bridge even emerges connecting Malaga to Bear Island.
The island’s topography is dictated by its underlying metamorphic bedrock, with north-south ridges reaching elevations of 40-60 feet above sea level. Glacial till, deposited over 10,000 years ago by the last ice age, forms the parent material of the island’s shallow soils. Bedrock outcrops are common, especially on the higher ridges.
Malaga Island viewed from Sebasco Village, illustrating its setting within the Maine coastal environment.
Flora and Fauna
Malaga Island is predominantly forested with red spruce trees, many of which are 85-90 years old. This forest likely regenerated from a pre-existing spruce forest that was selectively logged by the island’s former residents. A small area on the northern end, where the historic community was located, features a mix of shrubs, grasses, and wildflowers, indicating past clearing and habitation. The shoreline, stretching for two miles, is mostly bedrock ledge, interspersed with salt marshes and small pocket beaches.
The dominant spruce forest on Malaga Island, reflecting the island’s ecological recovery.
One notable rare plant found on Malaga is spotted wintergreen (Chimaphila maculata), listed as endangered in Maine. This evergreen perennial is at the northern edge of its range, primarily found in southern Maine, making its presence on Malaga ecologically significant.
Malaga Island provides habitat for a variety of wildlife. Mammals such as white-tailed deer, raccoons, red squirrels, and deer mice inhabit the island, some as permanent residents, others as transients. The mature conifer forest is ideal for both resident and migratory birds, including species like the black-throated green warbler, yellow-rumped warbler, blackburnian warbler, golden-crowned kinglet, and common raven. Song sparrows and other birds nest in the shrubby edges of the island.
A Blackburnian warbler, one of the many bird species that find refuge on Malaga Island.
Bald eagles, though no longer federally threatened, nest on nearby Bear Island. Malaga Island falls partially within the designated Essential Habitat for this eagle nest, providing protected foraging and nesting areas. Seabirds, including eiders, terns, and common loons, feed in the waters around Malaga, while gulls and ducks often congregate on the rocky ledges, particularly on the southern end of the island. The tidal flats between Malaga and Bear Islands are also vital shellfish harvesting areas within the New Meadows River system, further highlighting the ecological and economic importance of this coastal environment.
Malaga Island Today: Remembrance, Preservation, and Research
Today, “where is Malaga” signifies a place of remembrance, conservation, and ongoing discovery. The island is no longer inhabited, but its story continues to resonate, and its landscape is now protected.
In 2001, Maine Coast Heritage Trust (MCHT) acquired Malaga Island at a bargain sale price. MCHT’s mission is to conserve Maine’s coastal lands and islands. Their ownership of Malaga Island is aimed at preventing development, promoting low-impact recreation, and supporting the traditional use of the island by local fishermen. MCHT also maintains a mainland access easement on Bakers Wharf Road extension, providing parking and dinghy storage for island visitors.
Local lobstermen still utilize Malaga Island for storing lobster traps and gear, a continuation of the island’s long association with fishing. Recreational visitors are primarily locals who come for picnics and day trips, exploring the waters by small boat.
Archaeological research on Malaga Island began in 1989 with a survey by the University of Southern Maine (USM). Since 2002, USM’s summer archaeology field school has conducted annual research on the northern end of the island, focusing on the site of the historic community. Excavations have unearthed tens of thousands of artifacts dating from approximately 1880 to 1912, including ceramics, tools, and remnants of daily life, providing invaluable insights into the lives of Malaga’s former residents. Researchers have also located the foundations of houses, the schoolhouse, and stone-lined wells, mapping the physical layout of the lost community. Shell midden deposits, accumulated refuse heaps, reveal dietary habits and have even been found to have served as building platforms for homes.
Archaeological work on Malaga Island, piecing together the story of the island’s evicted community.
Malaga Island holds unique significance in both archaeological and environmental history. The ability to connect specific household sites with known African-American families from a defined period is rare and offers a powerful opportunity to understand the past.
MCHT manages Malaga Island for traditional uses, low-impact recreation, and wildlife habitat. They organize interpretive field trips and welcome respectful self-guided visits. A loop trail, created in 2008, allows visitors to explore the island’s northern end. MCHT signage at the beach landing provides guidelines for responsible visitation, emphasizing “carry-in, carry-out” practices and the prohibition of camping and fires to protect the island’s fragile environment and historical remnants.
In 2009, MCHT completed a management plan for Malaga Island, outlining strategies for conservation, interpretation, and community engagement. In a significant step towards recognition and remembrance, Malaga Island was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2023.
Conclusion
“Where is Malaga Island?” is a question that leads to a place of profound historical and natural significance. Located off the coast of Phippsburg, Maine, in Casco Bay, Malaga Island is more than just a geographical point. It is a site etched with the stories of indigenous inhabitants, a vibrant mixed-race community, and the tragic injustice of their forced eviction. Today, Malaga Island stands as a protected space, where ongoing archaeological research and thoughtful preservation efforts ensure that its history is not forgotten, and its natural beauty endures for future generations. Visiting Malaga Island is an opportunity to connect with a poignant chapter of Maine’s past and to appreciate the resilience of both nature and memory.
