About Naval Air Station Patuxent River - DCMilitary.com

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When you first arrive in Southern
Maryland you might be surprised at the
strong sense of history that surrounds
you. Wherever you go you’ll find more
than monuments - you’ll feel a presence,
a proud identity with the birth of
American independence. Give yourself
time. You can’t see it all in a day. With
time and a little patience, you’ll
discover what is one of the most
exciting places in the world.
Ours is a cornucopia of recreational,
cultural and travel opportunities within
many different areas. Explore the rich
history and strong sense of heritage.
Discover what so many have come to
find as a state and a region with
something for everyone.
The story of the great state of
Maryland began in Southern Maryland
when the first 140 settlers arrived at St.
Clement’s Island March 25, 1634. They
came with a sacred purpose - to build a
new society founded on the principles
of religious tolerance, separation of
church and state, equal justice and
representative government - revolutionary
ideas in their time. Their principles
took root and flourished in the land they
called Maryland and became an
enduring legacy of freedom to the
generations of Americans who would
follow. These first Maryland settlers
established a permanent colony at St.
Mary’s City. St. Mary’s County, site of
Naval Air Station Patuxent River, was
established in 1637, Calvert County in
1654 and Charles County in 1658.
Southern Maryland has changed
significantly since 1634. Despite the
inevitable changes brought by the
passage of time and growth of the
region, the ideals, values and traditions
upon which Maryland was built still
echo throughout Calvert, Charles and
St. Mary’s counties.
There is a pleasant surprise waiting
for you in Southern Maryland today - a
beautiful land nestled between the
Potomac River and the western shore of
the Chesapeake Bay. The region, home
Our Neighbors
to a quarter of a million people, is made
up of 1,000 square miles of land
captured within 700 miles of pristine
shoreline.
Southern Maryland has so very much
to offer its residents and guests. If you
care to step back in time, embark for St.
Clement’s Island, the landing site of
those first Maryland colonists, or tour
Historic St. Mary’s City, England’s fourth
permanent settlement in America and
Maryland’s first capital. Tour the home
of Dr. Samuel A. Mudd, who set the
broken leg of John Wilkes Booth,
President Lincoln’s assassin, or stroll
through the region’s beautiful manor
homes such as Sotterley Mansion, built
in 1717, or Smallwood’s Retreat, home
of Revolutionary War General William
Smallwood. Attend worship services at
one of the region’s historical churches
such as St. Francis Xavier in Newtown,
St. Ignatius Church at Chapel Point, or
Middleham Church, in the oldest
cruciform designed church in Maryland.
Explore the Calvert Marine Museum
in Solomons, just minutes from Naval
Recreation Center Solomons, and learn
more about southern Maryland’s maritime
history and pre-history, when
ancient seas covered the entire region.
Roam the site of Port Tobacco, an
important center for the colony’s tobac-
Children enjoying the St. Mary’s County Fair
co trade near La Plata, or discover the
tools of American Indians who settled
Maryland thousands of years before the
first Europeans arrived, at the Jefferson
Patterson Park and St. Clement’s Island-
Potomac Museum.
If you long for the serenity of sailing,
set a course for the Chesapeake Bay, the
Potomac, or the Patuxent rivers.
If you enjoy the challenge of fishing,
cast your line into southern Maryland’s
water and land a catch of rockfish, white
perch, pike, large mouth bass or
flounder. Dangle your bait from a local
pier and net a bushel of crabs, or go out
with one of our charter boat captains
and pull in the famous rockfish or “big
blues.”
If you search for an adventure of the
mind, enter the realm of the towering
bald cypress trees at Battle Creek
Cypress Swamp Sanctuary near Prince
Frederick, or hike to the majestic Calvert
Cliffs, one of the richest deposits of
marine fossils in the Eastern United
States. Watch a dazzling show of
precision flying and aerial acrobatics at
the Air Expo held every other year at
Naval Air Station Patuxent River.
If you dream of savoring a “taste of
southern Maryland,” attend the annual
St. Mary’s County Oyster Festival at the
county fairgrounds, visit the lively