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Maryland Day is tomorrow, a state holiday that commemorates March 25, 1634 – the date settlers disembarked from the sister sailing ships Ark and Dove onto what would become Maryland soil at St. Clement's Island in present-day St. Mary's County.
Maryland Colony was authorized under a charter granted by Charles I of England to Cecilius Calvert, Baron of Baltimore. Traveling on the Ark to the new colony, Leonard Calvert – Lord Baltimore's brother – led the settlers. The purpose of their voyage was not to discover new lands, but rather settle them.
Departing on November 22, 1633, the approximate 140 voyagers set off from Cowes on the English Isle of Wight. Three days later, a severe storm tossed them about at sea and separated the ships. The Ark continued her journey, following the European coast south to the Fortunate (now Canary) Islands.
From the Canaries, they sailed due west across the Atlantic, touching land at Barbados on January 3, 1634. There, the ship's weary travelers spent three weeks replenishing provisions – witnessing, perhaps by fate, the Dove reappear after weathering the voyage alone.
They reached Virginia on February 27. The settlers gathered additional supplies before navigating north to the Chesapeake Bay and mouth of the Potomac by March 3.
The ships alarmed Native Americans who sent alerts using large signal fires. To meet the Conoy Indian chief and calm their fears, Leonard Calvert on the Dove sailed to Piscataway (present-day Prince George's County). There, an accord was negotiated.
On March 25, the settlers climbed from the Ark and Dove and rowed to an island which they would later name St. Clement's. A day of thanksgiving was held in a maritime moment that made Maryland.
Haven Harbour South's Ark Atrium and Dove Lounge event spaces are proudly named for the aforementioned sailing vessels that brought to Maryland Colony her first settlers – including ancestors of our ownership, the Brawner family.
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