Celebrate Maryland Day at St. Clement’s

Celebrate the founding of Maryland at the state’s birthplace, St. Clement’s Island, on Maryland Day, March 25.

St. Clement’s Island Museum will offer a full day of fun from 10am to 5pm, including free museum admission, kids’ activities, free water taxi rides (10am to 2pm), lighthouse tours, a food truck, and special exhibits. The event will also include a public ceremony at 2pm on the mainland and a public Mass on the island at 10am commemorating the first Mass said in the English-speaking New World.

Maryland Day commemorates the first landing of English colonists on St. Clement’s Island on March 25, 1634 – a significant part of St. Mary’s County’s and the state of Maryland’s story.

“Maryland Day is the most important event in our program year, since it marks the beginning of both St. Mary’s County and the state of Maryland in 1634,” says Karen Stone, Manager of the St. Mary’s County Museum Division. “On this day, we honor the meeting of two cultures – the newly-arrived English and the native Piscataway – and the friendship and collaboration that ensued. It is also a day on which we celebrate Maryland’s religious history and its place in the development of the statutes of religious freedom that are so pivotal in this country’s history.”

Also, starting on Maryland Day, the museum officially kicks off water taxi operation to St. Clement’s Island State Park. Boat rides occur most days through October 31. Click here for more information.  www.stmaryscountymd.gov/watertaxi

For more information regarding Maryland Day, call the museum at 301-769-2222. For hours of operation, programs, admission prices and more, click here.