The Loudville Church is a historic non-denominational church building on Louds Island, an

unincorporated territory Territories of the United States are sub-national administrative divisions overseen by the federal government of the United States. The various American territories differ from the U.S. states and tribal reservations as they are not sover ...

Lincoln County, Maine Lincoln County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maine. As of the 2020 census, the population was 35,237. Its seat is Wiscasset. The county was founded in 1760 by the Massachusetts General Court from a portion of York County, Massachus ...

that is now home to summer residences. The church was built in 1913, using materials from a schoolhouse built in 1908 on

Malaga Island Malaga Island is a island at the mouth of the New Meadows River in Casco Bay, Maine, United States. It was the site of an interracial community from the American Civil War until 1911, when the residents were forcibly evicted from the island. It ...

. It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1995.

Description and history

Louds Island is located on the west side of

Muscongus Bay Muscongus Bay is a bay on the coast of Maine, United States, between Penobscot Bay and John's Bay. Muscongus was the name of an Abenaki village meaning "fishing place" or "many r largerock ledges." John Smith recorded the river in 1616 as Nusco ...

, off the coast of

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

near the village of Round Pond. The island was settled in the 1750s, and had a population of about 150 in 1798. By the mid-19th century it had lost most of its permanent population, and was reduced to a summer colony. The island had no church until this one was built in 1913. It is an L-shaped wood-frame structure, stories in height, with a cross-gabled roof, shingled exterior, and concrete foundation. A three-story tower rises at the crook of the L, topped by a pyramidal roof with flared eaves. It has modest Gothic stylistic elements, including a three-part arched window in one of the gabled sides. The building's story begins on

, located in Maine's

Casco Bay Casco Bay is an inlet of the Gulf of Maine on the southern coast of Maine, New England, United States. Its easternmost approach is Cape Small and its westernmost approach is Two Lights in Cape Elizabeth. The city of Portland sits along its south ...

. During the 19th century, Malaga was the site of an impoverished settlement of predominantly African-Americans, who were mainly living of the land and sea. In 1908, well-meaning wealthy social reformers built a school on the island in a bid to improve the condition of the children of the residents. The Malaga Island community was forcibly evacuated in 1911, in what has later been described as an act of

cultural imperialism Cultural imperialism (sometimes referred to as cultural colonialism) comprises the cultural dimensions of imperialism. The word "imperialism" often describes practices in which a social entity engages culture (including language, traditions, ...

. The school was given by its builders to the Maine Seacoast Missionary Society, which raised the funds needed to move it to Louds Island. Its lumber was used to build this church, to a design by Milton Stratton, a Maine architect active in the

Mount Desert Island Mount Desert Island (MDI; french: Île des Monts Déserts) in Hancock County, Maine, is the largest island off the coast of Maine. With an area of it is the 52nd-largest island in the United States, the sixth-largest island in the contiguous ...

area. The building is maintained by the Louds Island Association, which holds meetings and summer religious services there.

References

{{National Register of Historic Places Churches in Lincoln County, Maine Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Maine Gothic Revival church buildings in Maine Churches completed in 1913 20th-century churches in the United States 1913 establishments in Maine National Register of Historic Places in Lincoln County, Maine

Description and history

See also

References