St. Clement's Island State Park

St. Clement's Island State Park
IUCN category V (protected landscape/seascape)
Location	St. Mary's County, Maryland, USA
Nearest city	Leonardtown, Maryland
Area	40 acres (160,000 m²)
Governing body	Maryland Department of Natural Resources

St. Clement's Island lies in the Potomac River near Colton's Point, Maryland, in the United States. The uninhabited island has been designated St. Clement's Island State Park.

The park preserves the site of the March 25, 1634, landing of Maryland's first colonists, commemorated as Maryland Day. The island served as a convenient and non-threatening temporary base of operations for the 150 settlers, as they negotiated with the Yaocomico Indians for land for a permanent settlement. It was the site of perhaps the first mass celebrated in that part of the world, said by Jesuit Father Andrew White on the day of the landing. They named the island in honor of Pope Saint Clement I, patron of mariners.

A water ferry leaves from the St. Clement's Island-Potomac River Museum near Colton's Point. A stone cross stands on the island, in memory of the first settlers. The park is administered by Point Lookout State Park. The St. Clement's Island Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on April 10, 1972.

For many years the island, then known as Blakistone Island, was the site of a lighthouse.

External links

• St. Clement's Island Historic District, St. Mary's County, Inventory No.: SM-123, including photo in 2002, at Maryland Historical Trust website
• St. Clement's Island State Park