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Kent Fort, Maryland

1631 establishments in MarylandColonial forts in MarylandEastern Shore, Maryland geography stubsEnglish-American culture in MarylandFormer populated places in Maryland
Kent Island, MarylandPopulated places in colonial Maryland
Kent Fort stone marker 05
Kent Fort stone marker 05

Kent Fort was a fort and settlement located near 38.84°N 76.37°W / 38.84; -76.37 on southern Kent Island in colonial Virginia and later Maryland, and was the first English settlement within the boundaries of present-day Maryland and the fourth oldest permanent English settlement in the United States, after Jamestown, Virginia (1607), Hampton, Virginia (1609–10), and Plymouth, Massachusetts (1620). The fort was established by William Claiborne in 1631, and was a central part of early Kent Island. Claiborne made Kent Fort into a trading post with the Matapeake people, the Indigenous tribe of the island. Beads imported from Italy were given to the Matapeake people in exchange for furs. By the end of the century, however, activity had shifted northward to the port town of Broad Creek. Today, the land on which the fort once stood has been eroded into the Eastern Bay, and the only known traces of the settlement are well bases in the bay. A stone marker marks where the settlement was located, and Kent Fort Manor is also located at the site of the Kent Fort settlement.The colony was located on Eastern Bay between two present-day piers and down Kent Fort Road. Three wooden wells were located approximately 75 feet off shore and other artifacts were found in the vicinity. Notable were blue Indian trade beads which dated to 1631 from other sites. Also found were melted beads which were probably in a fire recorded in the store house which burned on October 17, 1631.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Kent Fort, Maryland (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Kent Fort, Maryland
Willard Point Road,

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Wikipedia: Kent Fort, MarylandContinue reading on Wikipedia

Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 38.84 ° E -76.37 °
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Address

Willard Point Road

Willard Point Road
21666
Maryland, United States
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Kent Fort stone marker 05
Kent Fort stone marker 05
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Claiborne, Maryland

Claiborne is an unincorporated community in Talbot County, Maryland, United States. The village is located on the eastern shore of the Chesapeake Bay near the mouth of the Eastern Bay at 38°50′15″N 76°16′40″W, and uses ZIP code 21624. The 2000 U.S. Census listed the population as 147 and the number of homes as 84, slightly down from its 1941 population of 156. Between 1890 and 1930, the village was a busy port for passenger and then automobile ferry service across the Chesapeake Bay, with numerous stores and motels/resorts, including Maple Hall and the Bellfonte Hotel. A post office was added in 1893 and the Protestant Episcopal Church of Claiborne was built in 1898. In 1912, an elementary school and Methodist Church were added. Before 1912, students attended school in nearby McDaniel. The town's first school consisted of the kitchen of the local railroad pavilion, used as a classroom. In 1913, the town became home to the Claiborne Fresh Air Association, Inc., (“Miracle House”) which was formed for the purpose of providing 10 weeks of fresh air and summer vacation for children who had been exposed to tuberculosis. The role of Claiborne as a terminal for cross-Bay ferries was diminished in 1930 when the primary route shifted to Matapeake in Kent Island. It ended altogether in 1938 when the direct connection from Annapolis to Claiborne was terminated and only an auxiliary shuttle between Claiborne and Romancoke on Kent Island remained. This shuttle service ended in 1952, a few months after the opening of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge; thus ending all ferry service to Claiborne after more than six decades.