Meet ‘Maine’s forgotten founding father,’ the Scarborough man who signed the Constitution

Scarborough’s Forgotten Founder: Rufus King, A Constitution Signer Who Shaped Maine and the Nation

Scarborough, Maine – The portrait of the signing of the Constitution that hangs in the Scarborough Historical Society’s gallery may be one of the few visible reminders of the town’s connection to the nation’s founding. At its base, the name Rufus King—born in this very town in 1755—tells a story of a man who helped write the nation’s charter, served in the first U.S. Senate, and stood firmly against the spread of slavery.

A Boston‑born Scion of Maine

Rufus King was born March 24, 1755, to Richard King, a prosperous merchant of Scarborough, then part of Massachusetts. He earned a Harvard College degree and became a lawyer before entering public life. In 1783 he was elected to the Massachusetts General Court and, two years later, to the Congress of the Confederation, the national body that operated under the Articles of Confederation.

King’s most lasting legacy began in the summer of 1787, when he traveled to Philadelphia as one of 55 delegates from the states. Though the convention was originally convened to revise the Articles, the delegates ultimately drafted a new constitution. Five of them—King, Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, John Jay, and William C. Brown—formed the Committee of Style and Arrangement and drafted the document that still governs the United States more than two centuries later. King’s signature appears near the top of the right column on the original parchment.

“He called the Constitution the work of ‘wise and well‑ordered provision,’ but ‘all that is the work of man is like him, imperfect,’” King wrote in his private notes, a sentiment echoed by his colleagues at the time.

From Senator to Diplomat

At 32, King was one of two Massachusetts delegates to sign the new Constitution. He believed strongly in a powerful central government and attended every session of the convention. After the ratification, he returned to Boston, then moved to New York, where he became that state’s first U.S. Senator at age 34. He served until 1796, when President George Washington appointed him U.S. Minister to Great Britain.

He returned to the United States in 1803 and, though he failed in bids for the Senate and the vice‑presidency, he remained active in politics. In 1816 he ran for president against James Monroe, but was defeated in a landslide. King was the last Federalist candidate for president and the last Federalist senator—a party that had dominated the early republic but had begun to wane. His colleagues joked that he was “an old woman out of fashion,” a reference to his powdered wig, the last senator to wear one.

He was re‑elected to the Senate in 1813 and served until 1825, when John Quincy Adams appointed him again as Minister to Great Britain. King died in New York on April 29, 1827, at age 72, shortly after returning from his final diplomatic tour.

A Voice Against Slavery

Throughout his career King was an outspoken opponent of slavery. He is believed to have helped draft the Northwest Ordinance of 1787, which prohibited slavery in the Northwest Territory. In the years before the Missouri Compromise, he delivered a speech that “many consider the greatest of his career,” opposing the extension of slavery into new territories. John Quincy Adams, in a 1987 Telegram column, recalled, “Ah! The great slave‑holders gnawed their lips and clutched their fists as they heard him.”

When the Missouri Compromise of 1820 was passed—admitting Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state—King’s anti‑slavery stance underscored a broader struggle over the nation’s future. Though his proposals to influence the new state’s name and other policies were only partially adopted, his ideas were recorded in a 1916 Times Record article that noted his suggestions had “several of which were implemented.”

Legacy in Scarborough

Despite his national prominence, King spent much of his life far from his birthplace. Don Taylor, historian at the Scarborough Historical Society, explains, “He was certainly a favorite son of Scarborough. He was born here, he was raised here, but so many Mainers in history moved to other states and became important elsewhere.” Taylor stresses the importance of remembering local figures to understand Maine’s place in the country: “You can’t be self‑actualized if you don’t understand what it is that makes you what you are,” he says. “The founding fathers had a vision that we need to know and understand if we’re going to change from that vision.”

Today, King’s name is carved into the family monument on the King Burial Ground on Susan Avenue, and the town’s historical society displays a painting of the Constitutional signing that includes his signature. For residents and visitors alike, these artifacts offer a tangible link to a man who helped draft America’s governing document and fought to keep it free from the shackles of slavery.

Rufus King’s story is a reminder that the founders who shaped the nation were also local men and women whose lives were rooted in the communities that continue to celebrate their legacy. As Maine reflects on its own history, King’s life invites a broader conversation about how local roots and national ideals intersect—and how the past can guide the future.