St. Clement's Island State Park is a publicly owned historic preservation and recreational area that encompasses St. Clement's Island, an uninhabited

Potomac River The Potomac River () drains the Mid-Atlantic United States, flowing from the Potomac Highlands into Chesapeake Bay. It is long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map. Retrieved Augu ...

island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

lying one-half mile southeast of Colton's Point, St. Mary's County,

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

. The state park features a 40-foot stone cross dedicated to the beginnings of

freedom of religion in the United States In the United States, freedom of religion is a constitutionally protected right provided in the religion clauses of the First Amendment. Freedom of religion is closely associated with separation of church and state, a concept advocated by Coloni ...

as well as a reconstruction of the historic

Blakistone Island Light The Blackistone Island Light was a lighthouse located on what is now St. Clement's Island on the Potomac River in Maryland. It is best known as the target of a Confederate raid in the Civil War. Completed in 1851, the structure was destroyed by f ...

. It is the central feature of the St. Clement's Island Historic District that 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 ...

in 1972.

History

The park preserves the site of the March 25, 1634, landing of Maryland's first colonists, who had sailed from Cowes on the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a Counties of England, county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the List of islands of England#Largest islands, largest and List of islands of England#Mo ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

four months earlier. The date is commemorated annually as

Maryland Day Maryland Day is a legal holiday in the U.S. state of Maryland. It is observed on the anniversary of the March 25, 1634, landing of the first European settlers in the Province of Maryland, the third English colony to be settled in British North ...

. The island was a convenient, temporary base of operations for the 150 settlers as they negotiated with the

Yaocomico The Yaocomico , also spelled Yaocomaco, were an Algonquian-speaking Native American group who lived along the north bank of the Potomac River near its confluence with the Chesapeake Bay in the 17th century. They were related to the Piscataway, ...

Native Americans for land for a permanent settlement. They named the island in honor of Pope Saint Clement I, patron of mariners. It was the site of the first

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

Mass Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different eleme ...

celebrated in the British-American colonies, said by Jesuit Father Andrew White. It is widely believed that the Mass took place on the day of the landing. The island measured "not above 400 acres" at the time of the settlers' landing, according to White's account of the journey. Five years later, in 1639, the Surveyor General measured the island and found that it was about 80 acres. It formed part of St. Clement's Manor, which was granted by the Second Lord Baltimore to Dr. Thomas Gerard in 1639. Gerard subsequently became a major landholder and political figure in Maryland and

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

. After the island became the property of Gerard's daughter Elizabeth, the wife of Nehemiah Blackistone, it became known as Blackistone Island. After the Blackistone family took ownership in 1669, the island remained in the family for 162 years. It was taken over by the

US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

in 1919, at which time a landing strip and piers were built and the island's buildings and trees were removed. In 1962, the property was designated as a state park when it was leased from the Federal government and its name reverted to St. Clement's Island. The name change was made official by the Board of Geographic Names in 1965.

Features

The island's 40-foot stone cross was erected in 1934 in celebration of Maryland's 300th anniversary, recognizing the location as one of the foundation sites of religious toleration in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. A replica of the

was completed in 2008 through the efforts of the St. Clement's Hundred community organization. The original lighthouse occupied the island from 1851 until 1956 when it was destroyed by fire.

Activities and amenities

The island is only accessible by private boat or via a

water taxi A water taxi or a water bus is a watercraft used to provide public or private transport, usually, but not always, in an urban environment. Service may be scheduled with multiple stops, operating in a similar manner to a bus, or o ...

that operates seasonally from the St. Clement's Island Museum in Colton's Point. Activities on the island include hiking, picnicking, fishing, and hunting.

References

External links

St. Clement's Island State Park
Maryland Department of Natural Resources *, including photo from 2002, at Maryland Historical Trust {{authority control English-American culture in Maryland State parks of Maryland Parks in St. Mary's County, Maryland Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Maryland National Register of Historic Places in St. Mary's County, Maryland Protected areas established in 1962 IUCN Category III