WARREN, Maine (WABI) – In the early 18th century, a town in Warren became a place where African-Americans settled and built a thriving community.

Peterborough was founded by Amos Peters, an African-American Revolutionary War veteran, and his wife Sarah Peters.

Sarah had been enslaved in Guinea before being brought to Maine.

They founded a large community based around a family providing a community for African-Americans to thrive in agriculture and industries related to the sea.

Kate McMahon, the executive director of the Castine Historical Society, leads a variety of educational seminars based on American history.

She said this story shows the diversity of Maine spanning centuries.

“I think it’s important for us to understand that Black History is American history,” said McMahon.

“That even though we talk about it in the month of February, Black history should be celebrated and integrated into everything that we learn all year round and that these stories show us that diversity is a beautiful thing and that everyone has a place in the American story.”

McMahon said founders Amos and Sarah valued freedom and liberty above all else as they made a home for free Black people to thrive in.

They built a schoolhouse, managed their farms, and generated incredible economic impact from their town fishery.

Many men who called Peterborough home later served in the Spanish-American War and World War one and two.

They created the American dream in Maine despite factors within the system that suppressed African-American people.

Now, a cemetery in Warren honors the families that lived there, serving as one of the only remaining forms of evidence that Peterborough existed.

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