Saint Croix Island (Maine)

See also Saint Croix an island in the United States Virgin Islands

Saint Croix Island, or Dochet Island as it is called today, is a small uninhabited island in the U.S. state of Maine located at 45ÃÂº 07' 42" N latitude, 067ÃÂº 08' 02" W longitude, near the mouth of the Saint Croix River that forms part of the U.S-Canada border separating Maine from the Canadian province of New Brunswick. The 6.5 acre (26,000 m²) island measures approximately 200 yd (200 m) long by 100 yd (100 m) wide, and is located approximately 4 mi (6 km) upstream from the mouth of the river on Passamaquody Bay. The island is significant as the site of an early attempt at French colonization of the Americas. In 1984 it was designated by the United States Congress as the St. Croix International Historic Site. There is no public access to the island with a visitor's center on the U.S. mainland and a display on the Canadian mainland opposite the island.

Table of contents

1 History
2 See also
3 External links

History

The island was called Muttoneguis by the Native Americans who had used or lived on the island for as much as 4,000 years before the French arrived.

French nobleman Pierre Dugua Sieur de Mons established a settlement on Saint Croix Island in June of 1604 under the authority of the King of France. This outpost was the first attempt by the French at year-round colonization in the territory they called l'Acadie.

Samuel de Champlain was part of De Mons' expedition and settlement on the small river island. The following spring, after a harsh winter and the death of more than half the crew due to a "land-sickness" believed to be Scurvy, the settlement was moved to a new location on the mainland called Port Royal.

In 1608, Samuel Champlain and many of the settlers moved to a settlement on the Saint Lawrence River that later became Quebec City.

In 1797, the island was determined to be under U.S. sovereignty by a survey of the river which determined it to be on the western side of the main river channel.

It became known as Bone Island in the 1700s after many of the graves were exposed by erosion. 23 sets of remains were removed in 1969 and reburied in 2003.

The island was neutral territory in the War of 1812, leading it to be sometimes called Neutral Island.

In 1949, the island was designated as a National Monument by the United States Congress. It was given its current designation by Congress as an International Historic Site in 1984, a unique designation in the U.S. National Park system. Since 1968, the island's historical sites have been under the management of the U.S. National Parks Service in consultation with Parks Canada. The two nations routinely cooperate on commemorative activities and promotions. Special commemorations by the two nations in 2004 will mark the 400th anniversary of French settlement in North America.