Evicted & Abducted: Malaga Island, Maine

Outcasts & Dissidence: New England's History of Misbehavior

Malaga Island: where tourism and eugenics collided. Listen to learn about Maine's former mixed-race fishing island community and what happened when the government decided to intervene.
For more episodes ad-free and released early, find me on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/outcastsanddissidence
Check out Worthy Bonds for 7% APY interest, their interest calculator to see what your money will grow to, eventual retirement, and financial education. When you join with $10+ using the referral link we both will get $10 in free bonds! Tap it now: https://worthybonds.com/?r=swthh

Sources:
Maine Coast Heritage Trust has an abundance of information regarding the island and another good list of sources for more information https://www.mcht.org/preserve/malaga-island/ & https://www.mcht.org/story/malaga-island-history/

Here we have the e-article from Bowdoin College’s Bowdoin Magazine circa 2019 and it also appeared in Catapult, which is a publication I kinda like. She also shares her personal experience as a non-white person coming to Maine and getting an awkward-at-best reception https://www.bowdoin.edu/news/2020/11/inhabited-the-story-of-malaga-island.html FYI she says only one family of descendents is black - I do not believe that to be true since I can think of at least two others…

This is a well-done article from Malaga’s 2023 success in being listed on the National Register of Historic Places https://wgme.com/news/local/maine-island-that-had-its-community-forcibly-removed-added-to-national-register-of-historic-places-malaga-island-maine-coast-heritage-trust-mixed-race-fishing-community

YouTube video #1 is a short-but-deep little documentary on Malaga including expert narration and professional insight from archaeologists working on the site. If you only check out one source, this should be it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ia-WHVRLQFQ

YouTube video #2 is from a Maine State Archivist Kate McBrien and is much longer - about an hour - so suuuper informative - love it! Those photos, you guys! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIeqJndS9zs

YouTube video #3 is from Maine State Museum and includes that wonderful and touching interview from descendant Laura Harrison plus images of artifacts https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10xRqDNrVTI

The Lewiston Evening Journal article (8/21/1911 p6) is accessible on Newspapers.com if you’re down to spend the small fortune on a subscription (which I highly recommend), or probably elsewhere, too.

Support the show

https://www.patreon.com/outcastsanddissidence
https://x.com/Misbehavior_ME
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9Zltij5L2YA6aya_1z1oqw