Country USA Completed 1631 | Town or city Kent Island | |
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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 third oldest permanent English settlement in the United States, after Jamestown, Virginia (1607) and Plymouth, Massachusetts (1620). The fort was established by William Claiborne in 1631, and was a central part of early Kent Island. By the end of the century however, activity had shifted northward to the port town of Broad Creek.
Map of Kent Fort, 4, Kent Island, MD 21666, USA
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 the two piers located towards the bottom of the image And down Kent Fort Road. Three wooden wells were located approximately 75 feet off shore. Artifacts from the colony were found in the full extent of the image. Notable were blue Indian trade beads which dated to 1631 from other sites. Found were melted beads which were probably in a fire recorded in the store house which burned in October 17, 1631. John Chamberlin I have surveyed this site for over 20 years.