HISTORY AND HERITAGE
Kent Island has been inhabited for nearly 12,000 years. The more recent native populations belonged to the Matapeake tribe and were members of the Algonquin nation. The Matapeakes called Kent Island "Monoponson." Kent Fort, the first English establishment on Kent Island was founded in 1631, making Kent Island the oldest English settlement within the present day state of Maryland. It is the third oldest permanent English settlement in the U.S. after Jamestown, Virginia and Plymouth, Massachusetts.
Historic Stevensville on Kent Island was founded in 1850 as a steamboat terminal. It is a national historic district with about 100 historic structures dating back to the town’s earlier days. It is also listed n the National Register of Historic Places.
One translation of the word Chesapeake from the Algonquian language is “Great Shellfish Bay.” Oysters have influenced the nature of the Chesapeake estuary and of those who have dwelled along its shores for centuries, and oysters are deeply imbedded in the culture, lore, and heritage of the region.
Find out out how oysters are helping to clean up the Chesapeake Bay - our son, Scott Budden, has an oyster farming business which we are shamelessly providing a link to Orchard Point Oysters