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.[7][8] On March 25, the colonists celebrated a mass of thanksgiving for their safe arrival and this date is commemorated annually as Maryland Day.[9][10] The island was a convenient, temporary base of operations for the 150 settlers as they negotiated with the YaocomicoNative 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 CatholicMass 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.[11] Five years later, in 1639, the Surveyor General measured the island and found that it was about 80 acres.[12] It formed part of St. Clement's Manor, which was granted by the Second Lord Baltimore to Thomas Gerard in 1639.[13] 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.[4]
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.[14] 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.[15] The name change was made official by the Board of Geographic Names in 1965.[2]
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.[15]
A replica of the Blakistone Island Light was completed in 2008 through the efforts of the St. Clement's Hundred community organization.[15] The original lighthouse occupied the island from 1851 until 1956 when it was destroyed by fire.[14]
Activities and amenities
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.[15] Activities on the island include hiking, picnicking, fishing, and hunting.[5]
^Lois Green Carr; Russell R. Menard; Louis Peddicord (March 25, 1984). "Maryland... at the beginning"(PDF). Hall of Records Commission, Department of General Services. Retrieved February 7, 2016.