PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • November 21, 2023
Malaga Island, a 42-acre island about a 40-mile drive up the coast from Portland, is these days a public preserve visited by hikers and nature lovers. More than a century ago, it was home to a small community that historians believe was settled by free Black Americans around the time of the Civil War. In late 1911, during the administration of Maine Gov. Frederick W. Plaisted, several islanders were committed to the Maine School for the Feeble-Minded. The state then bought Malaga Island from a local family and ordered the remaining residents to vacate. The island, located in the tiny town of Phippsburg, was formally listed on the national register on Sept. 19. The Maine Coast Heritage Trust acquired the island in 2001 and manages it as a preserve.