Benjamin Darling and Malaga Island – Maine
By
John C Abercrombie
Most people think of Black people being slaves in the South. I personally was shocked when I learned of Nancy Gooch and the role she played in the area of Sutter’s Mill and the gold rush of California, but this was nothing like the shock of finding the story Benjamin Darling in of all places, the State of Maine.
Benjamin Darling started life as a slave but was rewarded with his freedom for saving the life of his owner when a ship they were on traveling from North Carolina to Maine broke apart at sea.
Darling bought Horse Island in 1794. That island has been renamed and today is known as Harbor Island. Benjamin’s son Isaac sold the island in 1847 and is reported to have moved to Malaga Island. It is reported that in the frontier days skin color was not a big problem if it was not red. Maine did not start to show anti-Black sentiment until the early 19th century and was mostly centered in Portland, Maine.
The community that resulted included Black, White and mixed-race people. That community was left alone until the coast blossomed as a tourist destination. The island became a big deal when the local press made it so. There were rumors that the inhabitants were “different” that they had horns and borrowed into the ground. However Holman Day investigated and noted “… they are blameless so far as their relations with the world with the world go; they are not vicious, they show none of the sullenness that marks similar strata of society, they extend the rude hospitality of their island with touching warmth and sincerity”.
Pressure over the existence of the people on Malaga Island mounted and the State of Maine bought the island in 1911 and placed some of he residents in the home for the Feeble Minded, although there was no evidence of feeble mindedness. 45 people were evicted from the island and it remains uninhabited today.
From an analysis of pictures, archeological excavations and oral history, children of every shade played together. The men fished for cod and the women were productive and did laundry from the mainland. Unfounded rumors of “mentally retarded” and immoral savages with signs of syphilis, eating uncooked food began to surface.
The first people to settle on Malaga Island can be traced back to Benjamin Darling when he purchased what is now Harbor Island near Malaga Island. It is most likely that Henry Griffin and Fatima Darling Griffin were the first to live on Malaga Island in the early 1860’s.
Early 1900 saw great change in Maine. Fishing began to decline. There was decline in ship building at the same time there was a boom in real estate prices. This put the spotlight on Malaga at the same time eugenics was coming on full strength.
Eugenics is a branch of “science” that deals with improving the genetic quality of humans by excluding people and groups “thought” to be inferior and promoting those judged to be superior. This is a gross misinterpretation of the human qualities and is fueled by prejudice.
Captain George and Lucy Lane were Christian missionaries and focused their efforts on educating the children of Malaga Island. They raised money to build a permanent school on the island.
Fueled by negative press the idea developed that the only way to help and improve tourism and property values was to remove all signs the community.
The newspapers in the area ran derogatory headlines such as:
“Homeless Island of Beautiful Casco Bay – Its Shiftless Population of Half-breed Blacks and Whites and His Royal Highness, King McKenney”
“Queer Folk of the Maine Coast”
Headlines such as these and the action of Phippsburg and the State of Maine to evict the community were published throughout New England and in publications as Harper’s Magazine.
In 1905, all residents of Malaga Island were named wards of the state. The Governor Fredrick Plaisted visited Malaga Island in 1911 and was encouraged by the progress of the school children. During this visit Plaiste was quoted “the best plan would be to burn down the shacks…” noting the conditions were not creditable to the state, although there were other localities in the same or worst condition.
The State of Maine ruled that Malaga Island was owned by a Phippsburg family, the Eli Perry’s in 1911. Papers were filed to evict the islanders. A doctor, a member of Governor Plaisted’s executive Council signed papers committing 8 residents to the Main School for the Feeble Minded.
Maine then purchased the island from the Perry family and told residents of Malaga Island to vaccate by July 1, 1912. No alternative homes were provided or even suggested. When the Agent arrived on the island July 1st the houses were gone. Residents disassembled and removed them, moving them to another location. The only visible remains of the community were a schoolhouse and the cemetery. Oral history says some family members made wooden rafts and floated South towards Portland. However, the State of Maine was not done, and they exhumed the cemetery, combining 17 people into 5 caskets and moving them to the cemetery located at the Maine School for the Feeble Minded. 4 of the 6 residents died at the School for the Feeble-Minded and the 2 survivors never had children.
The term “Malagite” became a racial slur and was used on the Maine coast. Therefore, many descendants hid their ancestry and connection to the island. Those with connections to the island faced prejudice causing many to deny any connection to the community. Many of the descendants are scattered across the country and many are discovering their family history and connection with one another.
The very idea that Black and White people could live together in a productive community was uncomfortable to so many on the mainland of Maine. Family members denied the connection to Malaga and those who could pass for White did so.
Passing is understandable in one sense, but not in others. Many people with Black heritage are very fair, have straight hair and can pass as White. This made life so much more accommodating but did not change the reality. This is the reason so many Whites are finding connections to Black ancestors today. For an example, look at the post on the site about Walter Francis White. “A Man Called White”
Only 1 Malaga family married into a Black family with the rest blending into the White population. The White population of Main has ranged from 95 to 98%. Maine is one of the 2 states that allow inmates to vote.
The University of Southern Maine began exploring the island in1989, searching for physical evidence of the people who had lived there. It was a very thorough examination and turned up deposits of shells and other artifacts of life on the island. This research recovered 56,000 artifacts. This research has been noteworthy because researchers have been able to match the artifacts to individual families.
In 2006 and 2007, Robert Sanford a professor of environmental science at the University of Southern Maine was one of the faculty members who shared the findings with Malaga’s descendants and the public. Reasons for releasing the information was intended to lift the veil on Malaga’s past and preserve the history of those whose names and deeds were lost to history. They also found so much information that it pointed out that the hostilities foisted on the descendants were unfair and that the community was like many others of its time.
The archaeologists had found 56,000 artifacts despite amateurs previously poking around for anything of market value. Many true treasures were overlooked by these amateur looters.
The amazing findings and stories of Malaga were presented in libraries, before civic groups and almost anyone who had an interest. The Maine State Museum opened an exhibit “Malaga Island, Fragmented Lives” in May of 2012. Curators combed the limited records and put together the story of Malaga and breathe life into it. Thus, a clearer picture of the community emerged.
We see this community that began with Benjamin Darling a free Black man who purchased what was known as Horse Island and is now known as Harbor Island. From there, Darling’s descendants settled in many islands in what is now known as the New Meadows River area.
Benjamin Darling’s granddaughter Fatima and her husband Henry Griffin were the first to build a house on Malaga in the 1860’s. From this beginning, Black, White, Native American, and mixed-race residents lived there. It is estimated that the population ranged between 40 – 50 people. There were several prominent families, the Griffins, Tripps, Easons and the McKenneys.
During ceremonies, then Maine Gov. John Baldacci spoke words of regret: “To the descendants of Benjamin Darling, let me say that I’m sorry. I’s sorry for what was done. It wasn’t right and we were raised better than that. We’re better people than that.”
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