LEONARDTOWN, Md. – Families across Southern Maryland can look forward to a free community gathering at the annual Children’s Day St. Clement’s Island Museum, scheduled for Saturday, August 16, 2025, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. The event, held on the museum’s waterside lawn in Colton’s Point, offers a range of activities designed for children and parents to mark the end of summer. Organizers from the St. Mary’s County Museum Division have arranged free games, crafts, face painting, snow cones and balloons for attendees.
The 7th District Optimist Club will host a kiddie tractor pull and conduct a free bike raffle open to children 12 and younger. Hometown Karaoke and DJ Services will provide kid-friendly music throughout the day. Additional exhibitors include representatives from the local fire department, rescue squad, St. Mary’s County Health Department, Delicados, St. Mary’s County Library and other community groups. Families are advised to arrive early, as the first 100 children will receive a free special Children’s Day cup from the St. Mary’s County Museum Division and sponsors, along with a goody bag from the Southern Maryland American Legion Auxiliary Unit 221.
Food options will be available for purchase, with the 7th District Optimist Club selling hamburgers, hotdogs, fries and drinks. The museum itself will remain open during the event, with regular admission fees applying. Water taxi rides to St. Clement’s Island will operate as usual, subject to standard fares. The St. Clement’s Island Museum is located at 38370 Point Breeze Road in Colton’s Point. For details, contact the museum at (301) 769-2222 or check its Facebook page.
This year’s Children’s Day St. Clement’s Island Museum continues a tradition of family-oriented programming that draws on the site’s historical significance. Past iterations of the event have featured similar activities, fostering community engagement in St. Mary’s County. For instance, the 2023 Children’s Day St. Clement’s Island Museum, held on August 19, included free admission to the museum, water taxi operations and various kids’ games, according to a local event report. In 2019, the August 17 event offered comparable attractions, with the museum open free to participants and water taxi services running normally.
The St. Clement’s Island Museum serves as a key cultural institution in Southern Maryland, preserving the narrative of the region’s early colonial era. It commemorates the March 25, 1634, landing of English colonists aboard the Ark and Dove ships at nearby St. Clement’s Island, marking the establishment of the Maryland colony. This event included the celebration of the first Roman Catholic Mass in the British-American colonies, conducted by Jesuit Father Andrew White, an occasion now honored annually as Maryland Day. The museum’s exhibits trace the interactions between the arriving settlers and the indigenous Piscataway people, highlighting themes of religious toleration that influenced the colony’s founding principles.
St. Clement’s Island itself, now a 62-acre state park managed by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, lies in the Potomac River southeast of Colton’s Point. Originally spanning about 400 acres at the time of settlement and later recorded as 80 acres in 1639, the island provided a temporary base for negotiations with the Yaocomico Native Americans. It became part of St. Clement’s Manor, granted to Thomas Gerard in 1639, and was renamed Blackistone Island after 1669. The U.S. Navy occupied the site from 1919 until its designation as a state park in 1962, with the name reverting to St. Clement’s Island in 1965. The park features a 40-foot stone cross erected in 1934 for Maryland’s 300th anniversary, symbolizing the origins of religious freedom in the United States, and a 2008 replica of the Blakistone Island Light, which replaced the original lighthouse destroyed by fire in 1956 .
The museum, nationally accredited, interprets this history through displays on the English colonization and the political and religious contexts of the 16th and 17th centuries leading to the voyage. It overlooks the island and operates the only public water taxi service to the park, available seasonally. Activities at the park include hiking, picnicking, fishing and hunting, accessible via private boat or the taxi from the museum dock.
In addition to Children’s Day St. Clement’s Island Museum, the venue hosts other nature-based and historical events throughout the year. For example, second Saturday programs in 2025 focus on nature activities for all ages at St. Clement’s and Piney Point museums, included with admission. Maryland Day celebrations, such as the 2024 event on March 25, featured free admission, children’s activities, lighthouse tours and food trucks, drawing visitors to reflect on the state’s founding. Holiday open houses, like those in 2023, offered family events with refreshments, live music and special exhibits.
For Southern Maryland residents familiar with the area’s rich historical landscape, Children’s Day St. Clement’s Island Museum provides an opportunity to connect with local heritage while enjoying outdoor recreation. The event aligns with the museum’s mission to educate on Maryland’s origins, making it a staple in the community’s calendar. As St. Mary’s County continues to preserve sites like this, such gatherings reinforce the importance of the 1634 landing in shaping regional identity.
