St. Clements Island and Manor - Four Centuries of Uninterrupted History

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Do you think you know a lot about history? How about the history of this place, Colton's Point and St. Clements Island just off shore?

381 years ago colonists from England first landed on the island and named it St. Clements Island while the point was called Longworth Point before becoming St. Clements Manor in 1636. It was settled before New York City, Philadelphia, Baltimore or Washington, DC even existed. In fact all but New York City were part of the original Mary Land grant to the Calvert family.



One March day in 1634 two ships sailed up the Potomac, the Ark and the Dove, bringing between 256 and 300 English to settle the lands called Mary Land. They were determined to find freedom and opportunity here in the "New World". Their story is the beginning of the recorded history of St. Clements Manor and Island and a colorful history it came to be.

So what should you know about St. Clements Island and Manor?

It was the 1st colony in America, even the world, to guarantee freedom of religion.

It was the 1st colony in America to establish and maintain peace with Native Americans.

It was the 1st arrival of Roman Catholics in English speaking America.

The 1st Catholic Mass and Eucharist in the original colonies took place on St. Clements Island.

The 1st Jesuits in the original colonies arrived on the Ark and Dove.

St. Clements Manor had one of the earliest Catholic and multi-denominational chapels in the original colonies.

St. Clements Manor House was one of the oldest continually lived in homes in the original colonies.

St. Clements Manor is most likely the oldest continually occupied chartered settlement in the original thirteen colonies.

It was the 1st site in the New World where America was dedicated to the Holy Mother Mary.

The Mary Land settlement was one of the most successful of the original thirteen colonies.

Mathias de Sousa, who arrived on the Ark with Father White at St. Clements Island became the 1st Black man in America in 1642 to serve in a legislature.



Yes, St. Clements Island, the landing site for the colonists of Mary Land, is a very special place. You can go to the island and stand in the light house and look across the water and see the birthplace of our beloved first president George Washington.

Move your eyes a little down river and you see the birthplace of the most famous military leader in American history, Robert E. Lee. Did you know he was offered a chance to lead either the Union or Confederate armies in our Civil War? Lincoln offered him the job and even when Lee returned to his home and led the Confederate Army Lincoln never lost his respect for this greatest of all fighting men.

Consider this, since the landing 375 years ago when the colonists first constructed a fort on the Island it has been involved in every major war in our history.

Now humor me and close your eyes and imagine a time before cars, cell phones, television and computers. It is late in the 19th century and you can see and hear the big steamboats pulling up to the wharf on the island with passengers from Washington, DC and Baltimore coming to one of the most famous resorts on the east coast. Four hotels, a beer garden, fresh oysters, crab and clams awaited the holiday goers with dancing in the moonlight on the pavilions of the St. Clements Manor house.



Did you know St. Clement Island was named by Father Andrew White after St. Clement, patron saint of mariners, who became Pope just 59 years after Jesus died in the first century, the year was 92. He was friends with the apostles and traveled with Peter and Paul. St. Clement was martyred by being chained to an anchor and dropped into the Dead Sea.



The day the colonists were to sail for America was November 22, 1643. They left Cowes, Isle of Wight, England but only made it ten miles before encountering high winds and storms and pulled into a harbor to wait out the storm. Early the next morning the Ark was knocked loose from anchor by another ship and set out to sea followed closely by the Dove. It was early November 23, St. Clements day. It was only appropriate that Father White named the island St. Clements when they ended their voyage.




More to follow on the incredible history of St. Clements and the reason it is the most sacred site in the USA.

St.Clements Island Maryland Colonial History - The Rest of the Story

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Maryland and the nation owe a great deal to the brave colonists who ventured across the Atlantic in 1633 and landed on St. Clements Island in early 1634. St. Clements Manor, established within a couple of years, remains the oldest continually settled chartered community in colonial America.

The following series of articles gives the latest research and solves the enduring mysteries about the colonial days in England and Southern Maryland giving a fascinating glimpse into the lives and politics of the colonial era.

Thursday, October 26, 2006
Where in the world is Coltons Point?
http://coltonspointtimes.blogspot.com/2006/10/where-in-world-is-coltons-point.html

Thursday, April 17, 2008
THE MIRACLE OF ST. CLEMENTS ISLAND
http://coltonspointtimes.blogspot.com/2008/04/miracle-of-st-clements-island.html

Saturday, March 21, 2009
Scenes from Coltons Point
http://coltonspointtimes.blogspot.com/2009/03/scenes-from-coltons-point.html

Friday, July 10, 2009
St. Clements Island and Manor - Four Centuries of Uninterrupted History
http://coltonspointtimes.blogspot.com/2009/07/st-clements-island-and-manor-four.html

Tuesday, August 11, 2009
St. Clement's Island Prehistory - Part 1.
http://coltonspointtimes.blogspot.com/2009/08/st-clements-island-prehistory-part-1.html

Monday, August 24, 2009
St. Clement's Island Prehistory - Part 2
http://coltonspointtimes.blogspot.com/2009/08/st-clements-island-prehistory-part-2.html

Tuesday, September 01, 2009
Histories Mysteries - The Journey of the Ark and the Dove
http://coltonspointtimes.blogspot.com/2009/09/histories-mysteries-journey-of-ark-and.html

Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Histories Mysteries - Next King of England (Prince William) Shares St. Clements Manor, Maryland Bloodline
http://coltonspointtimes.blogspot.com/2010/01/histories-mysteries-next-king-of.html

Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Histories Mysteries - The Landing at St. Clement's Island in 1634
http://coltonspointtimes.blogspot.com/2010/04/histories-mysteries-landing-at-st.html

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Reporting Live from Hurricane Earl Warning Zone - Southern Maryland - Part 3

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It is difficult but we are still reporting as hurricane Earl drifts up the eastern seaboard.  Contrary to news reports that the storm has lost it's intensity, you can see things are more than a little intense.

Here you can see our local town crier, as we have no other means of communicating among towns folk, sidetracked on his daily mission by the hurricane winds.

I tried to get to the Post Office to pick up my mail but the conditions made it a little difficult.  Still it is better than sitting at the typewriter cranking out stories while trying to keep the pages dry.

I checked on the neighbor next door but no one seemed to be home so I just drifted back to my house and on the way passed more neighbors taking the storm much too lightly.  I mean I have guitars too but I'm not about to get them wet like that ukulele.

It was back to the safety of Park Place, my house, and I looked out back where I saw Hillbilly Joe trying to get to his truck and I just knew I was safer here in the comfort of the second floor.  Why it looked like the storm blew most of his clothes off.

I could see the park across the street and sure enough, the Watermen from Coltons Point, having given up any hope for fishing, crabbing, oystering or clamming were settling in to a game of soccer in spite of the high tide and weather.

So much for Earl, by the time he made it past North Carolina there was not much left in him.  Still, there are two more storms barreling across the Atlantic so maybe we will keep the emergency supplies handy for the next wave.

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The Coltons Point Times: Reporting Live from Hurricane Earl Warning Zone - Southern Maryland Part 2.

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As Earl closes in on North Carolina sometime tonight (Thursday) the Maryland Chesapeake Tidal Basin will get the first impact as it moves up the east coast. So far the President has issued an emergency declaration and the Governor has issued an emergency declaration for our area. The National Weather Service has issued a coastal flood warning for the area.

Just before nightfall the sky filled with the advancing clouds of Earl, still a couple of hundred miles away. It is a foreboding sky but we should be just beyond the real danger area. Here at the Potomac basin the tides should be effected when the hurricane winds pass offshore later tonight.

Any flooding should hit by morning and the rains should be less severe than normal hurricanes on the east coast because the hurricane keeps speeding up. It was moving at a speed of 18 miles an hour earlier today and by morning is expected to accelerate to 35 miles per hour, much faster than storms already bigger than the entire state of Florida.

The pictures show the likely path, speed, and shape from various radar and satellite imaging. Just above you can see the two storms following Earl that will be the next threat.  Note the comparison below between the satellite image of Katrina and Earl.

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Reporting Live from Hurricane Earl Warning Zone - Southern Maryland

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For those of you safely tucked away from the Atlantic Ocean Hurricane Earl is just another storm somewhere else but here in Coltons Point on the waterfront, just a few miles from the point where the Potomac River reaches the Chespeake Bay and about 100 miles from the Atlantic Ocean, we sit in the area covered by Emergency Hurricane warnings from the National and State of Maryland emergency offices.

Just 7 years ago Hurricane Isabel made a direct hit here with the eye of the hurricane passing right over Coltons Point.  If Earl shifts just a few miles it could hit here again.  If it takes the current projected path we could have hurricane force or tropical storm force winds as right now hurricane force winds reach out 90 miles from the eye of the storm and tropical force winds reach 200 miles.

That means winds of up to 145 miles per hour are already within reach.  We sit just a few feet above sea level leaving us also subject to tidal surges which reached up to 8 feet during Isabel.  In fact many old trees were uprooted and the streets along the river were literally ripped out of the ground.

Access to Coltons Point was limited to boats and amphibious vehicles during Isabel and that storm was much less severe than Earl.  So we will be reporting live and in person from my front porch as the storm makes it's approach over the next 24-36 hours.

Stay tuned as we find out how accurate the Weather Service projected path might be.  We will keep reporting live as long as Internet access allows but if the winds are as severe as projected there is a good chance the lines and electricity will be wiped out.

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Histories Mysteries - The Landing at St. Clement's Island in 1634

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In the past five years I have heard and seen many different versions of what happened when the colonists to Maryland arrived in 1634 and it is time that historical societies and historians finally get the record straight. With the arrival of Lord Baltimore's colonists in the new world and the unique grant that gave him unprecedented powers to colonize America including the power to establish religious freedom, it was one of the most significant colonies in our history.

First of all, in 1628 George Calvert, the 1st Lord Baltimore, traveled the Potomac River on a trip to Virginia to scout locations for his Mary Land settlement as soon as King Charles approved his grant. The grant was approved by the King shortly after George died in 1632 and his son, the 2nd Lord Baltimore was determined to complete his father's dream of a colony grounded in religious freedom.



The expedition left England in late 1633 and arrived at St. Clement's Island in the Potomac River just a few miles from the Chesapeake Bay about March 3-5, 1634. The approximately 315 passengers and crew used a barge or skiff they brought with them to move supplies to the island and immediately began building a fort. It was to serve as a fortress to prohibit foreigners from illegal trade on the river for it was the narrowest point for crossing the Potomac River.



On March 25, the Feast of the Annunciation, a ceremony with all members of the expedition was held on the Island to read the official grant, celebrate the first Roman Catholic Mass in English speaking America, and conduct the first Eucharist ceremony in the colonies. A huge cross was made from downed trees and carried by the Catholics to the site of the Mass where it was erected. The Stations of the Cross were also part of the ceremony. Also the new colony was first dedicated to the Holy Mother Mary.

A couple of days later the Ark and Dove took many of the colonists to the future site of St. Mary's City. St. Clement's Island and the Manor that evolved under the guidance of the Gerard family remained a settlement and to this day remains the oldest continuously occupied chartered settlement in America.

By the end of March some of the colonists moved to the present site of St. Mary's City to establish permanent quarters while others remained at St. Clements and White Neck Creek. Soon additional settlements were at Inigoes downriver from St. Mary's City, and at a site along the Patuxent River. By 1637 another settlement was underway across St. Clements Bay in Newtown.



Also in 1637 the population of the Maryland colony was recorded as about 350 in Maryland with 90 in St. Mary's City, 60 in St. Clements Manor, and the balance throughout other Maryland plantations. The Manor grant to the Gerard family was promised before the expedition left England and was formally made in 1638 with the survey completed in 1639.

In terms of historical accuracy, the following should be used.

While the 1st Lord Baltimore died before the first expedition, he did visit Maryland in 1628 and traveled the Potomac River following the Captain John Smith explorations documented earlier by the Governor of Virginia.



The Ark and the Dove carried about 322 passengers and crew on the voyage including the loyalists who left from Gravesend, England and the Catholics who boarded at the Isle of Wight. Twelve people died crossing the ocean.

The expedition first landed at St. Clement's Island about March 5, 1634, not at St. Mary's City as often mentioned in speeches.

While Governor Leonard Calvert traveled the Potomac to meet with Indian leaders the remaining colonists built a fort on St. Clement's Island and on March 25 a ceremony on the Island, now celebrated as Maryland Day, was held.

During the ceremony the charter to the Calvert family was read and made Maryland the first colony in the world to guarantee religious freedom to all residents.

Around March 27, 1634 some of the colonists remained at St. Clements while others went to establish St. Mary's City.

While St. Clement's Manor was chartered in 1638 and the Manor House finished the same year St. Mary's City was not chartered until 1668 and ceased to exist in 1699. Both English settlements in Jamestown, VA and Plymouth, MA ceased to exist in the 1690's as well.



The St. Clement's Manor House under Lord Thomas Gerard was completed in 1638 on the mainland overlooking St. Clement's Island (currently Coltons Point).

If we just correct these errors in historical records we can begin the process of accurately documenting all the historical records of this most sacred and significant time in American history.



Other articles about the history of Maryland can be found at the following links.

Histories Mysteries - Next King of England (Prince William) Shares St. Clements Manor, Maryland bloodline
http://coltonspointtimes.blogspot.com/2010/01/histories-mysteries-next-king-of.html

Histories Mysteries - The Voyage of the Ark and the Dove
http://coltonspointtimes.blogspot.com/2009/09/histories-mysteries-journey-of-ark-and.html

St. Clements Pre-history Part 2
http://coltonspointtimes.blogspot.com/2009/08/st-clements-island-prehistory-part-2.html

St. Clements Pre-history Part 1
http://coltonspointtimes.blogspot.com/2009/08/st-clements-island-prehistory-part-1.html

St. Clements Island and Manor - Four Centuries of Interrupted History
http://coltonspointtimes.blogspot.com/2009/07/st-clements-island-and-manor-four.html

Summer Comes To Coltons Point
http://coltonspointtimes.blogspot.com/2009/05/rapping-with-vp-biden-next-in-line-for.html

Scenes from Coltons Point
http://coltonspointtimes.blogspot.com/2009/03/scenes-from-coltons-point.html

The Miracle of St. Clements Island
http://coltonspointtimes.blogspot.com/2008/04/miracle-of-st-clements-island.html

The Pilgrim's Progress
http://coltonspointtimes.blogspot.com/2007/02/pilgrims-progress.html

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Weekend Economic Stimulus Guide - The Vintage Source Weekend

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Forget about Washington and the feeble attempts by the White House and Congress to do anything to help us. They have their hands full with health care. For over a year health care seems to have filled their hands in fact. In the meantime the real people in the real world face the same economic uncertainty, struggle to save money while Congress struggles to blow money, and stuff like that in our lives.



Well the Coltons Point Times has our own economic stimulus program in which deserving merchants with quality service and exceptional products who are a little on the eccentric side are recommended by us because you will find very good bargains on very good old stuff. You will be served by very entertaining women who realized if you give people what they really want and need, and are fair, you can do quite well in spite of the politicians and bankers.



The women of the Vintage Source Antiques and Social Club who decided to only open one weekend a month will be open this weekend and with the weather the finest we have had this year you would miss a real experience if you don't go to the Vintage Source.



Bring lots of money and plan on taking your time to enjoy the experience and while you are at it check out the incredible non-vintage Hot Dog and everything else stand. Buy a couple of designer dogs there and kick back and imagine how no matter what the fools do in Washington there will always be folks like those at the Source to help us forget our problems and save our money.

Here is Michelle's latest invitation to the Vintage Source.



The Vintage Source
It's a Vintage Source Weekend!

Sat & Sun, March 20th & 21st, 8am-4pm!

Hi Folks,

Do you remember the old cartoon character, Pepe Le Pew? He was a swarthy skunk always laying the love lines on extra thick and failing miserably due to his odious nature. Recently, Pepe came-a-calling to The Vintage Source. And just like all the other ladies in his life, I wanted no part of him. After a week of traps set with tasty treats we had to pull out the big guns and and litter the place with moth balls! I think he got the hint though, because he finally moved on and took his stench with him. Really, we lead a very glamourous life over here at The Vintage Source.

Onto the good stuff...an "atta girl" goes out to our very own Sheryl Tart, whose slipcovers were part of a magazine spread in Romantic Country (the summer edition)! Park Hall resident, Patty Andreoli's home was a feature article in the magazine and showcased Sheryl's slipcovers and if you look closely, you'll recognize some Vintage Source furnishings as well.

Lastly, there are lots of pictures up showing off just a portion of the New Arrivals in the shop! Beautiful, functional, affordable furniture...it's all waiting for you.

I will leave you with a quote from my friend Pepe, "When you are a skunk, you learn how to hold your breath for a long time."

See you this weekend, March 20th & 21st, 8am-4pm.


Michelle

Michelle Radez
The Vintage Source
www.thevintagesource.net
thevintagesource@verizon.net
240-925-1060

The Vintage Source | 22080 Newtowne Neck Rd | Compton | MD | 20627

Winter 2010 is Not Through Yet

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Just when you think we might get back to a normal winter which means it has to stop snowing since we are already way beyond normal snowfall, here it comes again. So this latest blast left about 10 more inches here but the quite cold temperature and winds of 40-60 mph drove the wind chill down to around 5 to -5 degrees.



This time the roads were frozen solid with a nice coating of ice. Of course Maryland, Washington, DC and the entire North Atlantic have closed yet again, the third straight day for the federal government and they announced they will be closed Thursday, the fourth straight day.



When I worked at the White House and Congress I never remembered snow like this and for good reason since Washington, DC and Coltons Point both broke records for the most snow in a winter in history. The DC record was set in 1898. I have no idea what the new records might be since we are already over 60 inches and it is only mid-February.



Now Coolin, my giant Irish Wolfhound, seen below trying to stay out of the blizzard while still staying outside, loves winter and cold and snow but hates ice. He is so conscious of his size he will not walk on ice, nor go up stairs with ice, meaning I have to put rugs on the steps when it gets icy which has been almost every day since about a month ago.



Maryland must have cut the budget for snow removal because there is little hope of getting anywhere in a storm or for the next few days after. Just tonight our governor declared a snow emergency (a little late after the state has already been paralyzed by the blizzard) and said the side streets would not be cleared for 72 hours.



Back in Iowa and Nebraska if a mayor or governor said roads would not be cleared of snow for a week, which is how long it has been between the last two storms, he wouldn't be a politician for long. And if he said any car stuck in the snow would be ticketed and towed with more charges he'd probably be lynched.



Since we have a bunch of Democrats in Maryland and Washington we can only assume this liberal snow clean up chaos is a result of Democrats being in control. Liberals must not like snow much and certainly don't want to jeopardize their base by making the union members on the highway crews go out in that awful cold.



We still have electricity and heat, food and clothes so things could be worse. It is supposed to get well below zero tonight with the wind chill and there are thousands of people with no heat or electricity so we hope they are okay.



Stay tuned for more from the Southern Maryland artic.