When Captain John Smith sailed up the Patuxent River in 1609, he described a number of Native American settlements located along the shoreline. The largest was located at the confluence of the Patuxent and Battle Creek, in what is now Calvert County.
In fact, Indigenous Peoples had been using these lands for thousands of years for hunting, fishing, oystering, and crabbing. Artifacts dating back centuries can still be found on the shores of the Patuxent and the Chesapeake Bay. Many are on display at Jefferson-Patterson Park.
Friday, November 26, 2021 is Indigenous Peoples’ Day. For those wishing to learn more about the history of these peoples in Calvert County, I invite you to visit Jefferson-Patterson Park or to contact the Piscataway-Conoy Tribe, which was officially recognized by the State of Maryland on January 9, 2012.