St. Leonard in Calvert County, Maryland — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)

Indian Life at the Stearns Site

Photographed by Don Morfe, February 10, 2015

1. Indian Life at the Stearns Site Marker

Inscription. Were There Indians in Calvert County? This is a common question. In the early 1600s A.D., there were several small, closely-related Indian chiefdoms in the area. The most influential group called itself “Patuxent,” a name we now use for all these Indians. In the 1300s and 1400s A.D., ancestors of these peoples lived where you are now standing. JPPM archaeologist digging here---at the Stearns Site---found a settlement occupied by several families on a semi-permanent basis. The site was rich in animal and plant remains. They indicated that the Patuxent ate a variety of foods, including deer, opossum, squirrel, wild turkey, various fish species, corn, beans, and nuts. The most common remains found here were oyster shells. Shellfish were obviously an important part of the local diet.

(Inscription below the image in the upper left)
Above: Artist’s rendering of an Indian Family in their longhouse. Top Right: Boiling food in pot. Theodore De Bry created the engraving above based on a series of 28 drawing by John White depicting Indians during the late 1500s. The engraving were included in a publication written by

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Thomas Harriot, entitled A Briefe and true report of the new found land of Virginia in 1590. De Bry’s engravings are generally faithful to the original drawings by White; however, De Bry often Europeanizes his subject’s faces and postures, and tends to soften the more awkward gestures. That aside, these engravings are an invaluable source for ethnological study of these past peoples.

“Here are infinite schools of diverse kinds of fish.” William Strachey, 1612, describing the natural resources of the Patuxent River.

(Inscription beside the map in the center)
Captain John Smith’s map showing various Indian villages along the Patuxent River in the early 1600s.

(Inscription under the three images on the right)
1. Oyster shell filled trash pit, showing deer antler. Pit dates to the 1400s AD. 2. Varieties of corn after harvest. 3. John White’s drawing of different Indian fishing techniques,

(Inscription under the image in the far right)
Close-up of oyster shell hinge, showing growth rings.

Oyster shells have seasonal growth rings, similar to those on trees. Analysis of the rings tells archaeologists when the oyster was harvested.

Photographed by Don Morfe, February 10, 2015

2. Indian Life at the Stearns Site Marker

Other characteristics of the shell show the oyster’s habitat, giving us information about past environments.

Erected by Maryland Humanities Council and the Friends of JPPM.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Indigenous Peoples and Communities. A significant historical year for this entry is 1590.

Location. 38° 24.068′ N, 76° 30.78′ W. Marker is in St. Leonard, Maryland, in Calvert County. It is on Jefferson Patterson Park Road. The marker is on the grounds of the Jefferson Patterson Park and Museum. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Saint Leonard MD 20685, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Southern Maryland.

It is also in the American South,

specifically in the Upper South,

in the Mid-Atlantic,

in the Tidewater,

in the Chesapeake Bay Region,

and on the Eastern Seaboard. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region,

North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once one of the original Thirteen Colonies

and also the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers.

Patuxent River in the background image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Don Morfe, February 10, 2015

3. Patuxent River in the background

At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: War on the Water (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); Evidence Found in the Ground (about 400 feet away); King's Reach Post Mold Patterns (about 400 feet away); What Life Was Like Here (about 500 feet away); Excavation Process Gathers the Most Information (about 500 feet away); Discovery of a Colonial Plantation (approx. 0.2 miles away); Jefferson Patterson Park & Museum (approx. ¼ mile away); a different marker also named Jefferson Patterson Park & Museum (approx. 0.3 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in St. Leonard.

Credits. This page was last revised on June 16, 2016. It was originally submitted on February 18, 2015, by Don Morfe of Baltimore, Maryland. This page has been viewed 547 times since then and 25 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on February 18, 2015, by Don Morfe of Baltimore, Maryland. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.