Basic Information
- Type of Place
- Other
- Metro Area
- Politics c. 1860?
- Unions, Organized Labor?
Sundown Town Status
- Sundown Town in the Past?
- Surely
- Was there an ordinance?
- Don't Know
- Sign?
- Don’t Know
- Year of Greatest Interest
- Still Sundown?
- Surely Not
Census Information
Total | White | Black | Asian | Native | Hispanic | Other | BHshld | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1860 | ||||||||
1870 | ||||||||
1880 | ||||||||
1890 | ||||||||
1900 | ||||||||
1910 | ||||||||
1920 | ||||||||
1930 | ||||||||
1940 | ||||||||
1950 | ||||||||
1960 | ||||||||
1970 | ||||||||
1980 | ||||||||
1990 | ||||||||
2000 | ||||||||
2010 | ||||||||
2020 |
Method of Exclusion
- Police or Other Official Action
Main Ethnic Group(s)
- Unknown
Group(s) Excluded
- Black
Comments
Benjamin Darling and other escaped slaves started a
settlement in 1847. Over time, other ethnic groups
moved to Malaga Island and intermarried with the
African Americans, creating a small multiracial society.
In the early 1900s, the island became desirable as a
tourist destination to more affluent whites. The
Malagites were characterized as lazy, incompetent,
and mentally ill. In 1912, they were served with a writ
to vacate the island, and many families were
institutionalized at the Maine School for the Feeble
Minded. The homes of the Malagites were razed,
graves exhumed, and any reminder of the former
residents destroyed.
Malaga Island is now owned by Maine Coast Heritage
Trust and has no permanent residents.