Official Name: | Millsburg |
Settlement Type: | Township |
Pushpin Map: | Liberia |
Pushpin Label Position: | bottom |
Pushpin Map Caption: | Location in Liberia |
Subdivision Type: | Country |
Subdivision Name: | Liberia |
Subdivision Type1: | County |
Subdivision Name1: | Montserrado County |
Established Title: | Settled |
Established Date: | 1828 |
Unit Pref: | Imperial |
Population Blank1 Title: | Ethnicities |
Population Blank2 Title: | Religions |
Coordinates: | 6.474°N -10.679°W |
Millsburg is a township in Liberia. It is in Montserrado County.[1] [2]
In early 1828, the Millsburg settlement was established in an agreement between Colonial Agent Jehudi Ashmun and Dei chiefs. In February 1828, Millsburg was settled by a small trading company of Americo-Liberian emigrants.[3] [4] It was established on the north bank of the St. Paul River.[5] Millsburg is named for Samuel John Mills and Ebenezer Burgess, two agents of the American Colonization Society (ACS) who in 1818 made a reported on the British colony of Sierra Leone and its viability as a colony for African-American emigrants.[6] Following Millsburg's founding, other settlements were made on both banks of the river.[4]
In 1835, Mississippi Colonization Society sponsored its first group of African-American emigrants to Liberia, with most of the 71 people settling in Millsburg.[7] In the 1839 constitution of Liberia, Millsburg is mentioned as one of the settlements comprising the Commonwealth of Liberia. In 1839, the Gola chief Gatumba attacked Dei people in Millsburg.[8]
In the 1847 constitutional referendum preceding Liberia's independence, 21 voters in Millsburg voted in favor of the constitution, with none voting against it.[9] In a book published in 1850, James W. Lugenbeel described Millsburg as the Liberian settlement furthest from the sea coast.[5] In a 1898 book, William Henry Heard described Millsburg as a commercial center.[10]
Millsburg is situated on the St. Paul River. It borders Careysburg, Arthington, and Clay-Ashland. Under the 2023 to 2028 electoral map, Millsburg is a part of Montserrado County's 17th House of Representatives district.[11]