A Saco resident has started a petition to change the name of Pepperell Square, a portion of which is shown here, because the man for whom it was named, William Pepperell, was a slave owner. Courtesy Photo

SACO — A local woman said she believes it is time to rename Pepperell Square and so has started an online petition to do so.

Christine Reynolds said she was having a conversation with her sister, who told her that William Pepperell, a founder of Saco, and for whom the street is named, was also a slave owner. She conducted some research and found out that was the case.

She said was inspired by efforts to effect change at the local level during the peak of Black Lives Matter protests last month. As of Tuesday morning, the petition had 362 signatures.

“I started the petition because I believe that one of the ways we can make BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and people of color) citizens feel more accepted and welcomed in their own hometown is by rejecting the glorification of historical figures who actively participated in the oppression of their ancestors,” said Reynolds.

Saco resident Christine Reynolds has started a petition to rename Pepperell Square. Courtesy Photo

Reynolds, a scientist, said she reached out to Mayor William Doyle when she started the petition to make him aware of it, but will do some research on the process involved before  submitting it through the local government process.

Accounts on the Maine Memory Network of the Maine Historical Society refer to William Pepperell as Maine’s “most famous” slaveowner, among other historical references to Pepperell’s slave ownership.

“In the early 1700s, the owning of slaves was a mark of wealth and success,” according to text on the Maine Memory Network accompanying a photo of a receipt for the purchase of a slave by Pepperell in 1718. “Pepperell bought and sold slaves throughout his life, and left four slaves to his wife in his will.”

Pepperell, a Kittery merchant who became an acting governor of Massachusetts in 1756, purchased 5,000 acres and timber rights to an additional 4,500 acres of land on the east side of the Saco River in 1716, according to historical accounts. In 1762, the village of Pepperellborough was founded. In 1805, the name of the community was changed to Saco.

There are a number of Saco entities named for Pepperell, including an apartment complex, a street, and the square. Across the Saco River in Biddeford, a textile mill was named for Pepperell.

Doyle did not respond on Monday, July 20 to an email asking if he favored changing the name of Pepperell Square, but referred to the petition as the City Council that night agreed to form a committee to examine racial issues, among other matters.

The Intercultural Competency and Awareness Ad Hoc Committee is designed to bring together members of the community, council and staff to address inequality and bias issues, he said.

“The goals of the committee will be defined by the committee, but ultimately the goal (is to) look at and consider policies or actions, as need be, for the eradication of racism, and consideration of other things like the potential petition out there to rename Pepperell Square,” Doyle told the council.

The committee will be composed of up to 21 members, to be appointed by the mayor and approved by the City Council, to include 10 residents, five members of existing municipal committees, five staff members and a council liaison. Application forms for Saco’s committees are available online at the city’s website by navigating to the boards and commissions page.

A resolution passed by the City Council on Monday notes that equality, inclusion, and safety for all is a core city value. It notes a safe community requires open communication, diverse perspectives and trust, and achieves its best potential when all are welcome. The resolution notes that Saco celebrates the community’s diversity and welcomes all who live, work or visit in the city, “regardless of their national origin, color, religion, sexual orientation or gender identity, race, age, disability, or financial or socioeconomic status.”

“All residents, visitors, and guests, are entitled to be treated with compassion, respect, and dignity; and any individual exhibiting discriminatory behavior, overt or subtle, will not be tolerated by the City of Saco, its employees, or officials in any form,” the resolution states. “The City of Saco encourages employees, board and committee members, and elected officials to identify their implicit and explicit bias to ensure the ideals of fairness and equality are upheld; and we commit to building an environment and a community in which everyone is valued, respected, and welcomed. We encourage the citizens of Saco to likewise affirm these values of inclusion.”

The vote on the resolution was unanimous.

Reynolds, 26, said she was raised in Portland and moved to Saco a few years ago. She said she’s teamed up with fellow Saco residents who expressed interest when the petition surfaced on social media and have had conversations about how to keep the momentum going.

The petition to rename Pepperell Square is her first foray into looking at issues of racism and racial justice, she said.

“I believe that now is as opportune a time as any to re-evaluate this local reminder of an era when the rights and lives of Black Americans and other American citizens of Color were treated so disgracefully,” she said in the petition.