St. Clement's Island State Park | |
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Commemorative cross and rebuilt Blackistone Lighthouse | |
Location | Saint Mary's County, Maryland, United States |
Coordinates | 38°12′40″N76°44′44″W / 38.21111°N 76.74556°W [1] |
Area | 62 acres (25 ha) [2] |
Elevation | 10 ft (3.0 m) [1] |
Established | 1962 |
Administered by | Maryland Department of Natural Resources |
Designation | Maryland state park |
Website | Official website ![]() |
St. Clement's Island Historic District | |
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Nearest city | Leonardtown, Maryland |
Area | 1,499 acres (607 ha) [3] |
NRHP reference No. | 72001484 |
Added to NRHP | April 10, 1972 |
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 island lying one-half mile southeast of Colton's Point, St. Mary's County, Maryland. The state park features a 40-foot stone cross dedicated to the beginnings of freedom of religion in the United States as well as a reconstruction of the historic Blakistone Island Light. [4] It is the central feature of the St. Clement's Island Historic District that was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. [5]
The park preserves the site of the March 23, 1634, landing of Maryland's first colonists, who had sailed from Cowes on the Isle of Wight in England four months earlier. [6] [7] On March 25, the colonists celebrated a mass of thanksgiving for their safe arrival and this date is commemorated annually as Maryland Day. [8] [9] The island was a convenient, temporary base of operations for the 150 settlers as they negotiated with the Yaocomico Native Americans for land for a permanent settlement. They named the island in honor of Pope Clement I, patron saint of mariners. It was the site of the first Roman Catholic Mass celebrated in the British-American colonies, said by Jesuit Father Andrew White.
The island measured "not above 400 acres" at the time of the settlers' landing, according to White's account of the journey. [10] Five years later, in 1639, the Surveyor General measured the island and found that it was about 80 acres. [11] It formed part of St. Clement's Manor, which was granted by the Second Lord Baltimore to Thomas Gerard in 1639. [12] Gerard subsequently became a major landholder and political figure in Maryland and Virginia. After the island became the property of Gerard's daughter Elizabeth, the wife of Nehemiah Blackistone, it became known as Blackistone Island. [3]
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 in 1919, at which time a landing strip and piers were built and the island's buildings and trees were removed. [13] 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. [14] The name change was made official by the Board of Geographic Names in 1965. [1]
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. [14]
A replica of the Blakistone Island Light was completed in 2008 through the efforts of the St. Clement's Hundred community organization. [14] The original lighthouse occupied the island from 1851 until 1956 when it was destroyed by fire. [13]
The island is only accessible by private boat or via a water taxi that operates seasonally from the St. Clement's Island Museum in Colton's Point. [14] Activities on the island include hiking, picnicking, fishing, and hunting. [4]