BRUNSWICK — Pejepscot History Center is set to host a presentation on the history of nearby Malaga Island and the role PHC staff played two decades ago in highlighting the injustices endured by its inhabitants.

The event is set for 6-7:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 29, 2 at NOMAD, 14 Maine St. A half-hour reception with cash bar precedes the presentation.

Kate McBrien, Maine state archivist since 2020, leads the presentation. McBrien’s involvement with the story of Malaga Island dates back two decades, to her tenure as curator at Pejepscot History Center.

Following in the footsteps of the late Maine historian Bill Barry, who published a groundbreaking story on Malaga in a 1980 Down East magazine article, McBrien’s research continued to shed light on the tragic events surrounding Malaga Island. She later curated the acclaimed exhibit “Malaga Island, Fragmented Lives,” while on staff at the Maine State Museum, according to a news release from the history center.

Malaga’s white, Black, and mixed-race residents were evicted from the island, off the coast of Phippsburg, in 1912. Eight residents were institutionalized at the Maine School for the Feeble Minded, which today is a portion of New Gloucester’s Pineland Farms agriculture, education, and recreation center. Maine Gov. John Baldacci finally apologized for the state’s conduct in 2010.

Prior to the evening reception and presentation, the center will conduct a short annual business meeting to elect new trustees and officers. Anyone who becomes a member of PHC prior to Feb. 29, or that evening, may arrive at 5:30 p.m. and participate in the business meeting.

Tickets cost $20 for the general public and includes NOMAD’s wood-fired Neopolitan pizza. Member tickets are $12; annual membership starts at $40 for individuals.

To register, visit pejepscothistorical.org. Memberships can be purchased at that site or by calling 207-729-6606.

 

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