The
CoveCreek Club
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Community History
History of Kent Island and The Cove Creek Club
The first English trading post in the region was by a Virginian, William Claiborne in August 1631 on Kent Island. It has been accepted that the first settlement on the Island was at the southern end. Claiborne was a gentleman, an adventurer who was the American leader of a group of London investors who sent him to trade with the Indians. He was a Virginian and member of the Council, along with holding a number of offices for the Colony, including Surveyor General as well as Secretary of the Colony.
He named the island after his home county of Kent, in
England. This first
settlement was named Kent Fort and Kent Island became a Virginia
Hundred. The island was
already inhabited by several Native American tribes including the
Matapeakes who occupied the southern banks of the Chester River and
the Monoponsons who lived on the southern end of the island. The
early settlers were often subject to attack from neighboring
mainland tribes, the Wicomese and the Susquehannas.
The
Fort was mostly made of timber and thatch which was devastated by a
fire in its first year.
Although it was a struggle to rebuild, in time Kent Fort became more
than a mere trading post.
Eventually, the settlement consisted of wharves for shipping,
warehouses, plantings of corn and tobacco, a church, a "mansion
house", windmills for grinding corn and the bustling of more than
100 men.
While there is still some question as to where Kent Fort
stood, more and more evidence points to the Cove Creek Club property
as being the site. Due
to the long neck of land between Eastern Bay and the two creeks, the
property has long been known as "Long Point."
Originally the creeks were name Long Creek, probably by
Claiborne. The main
creek was later referred to as Tanner's Creek having been adopted by
the Tanner family who inhabited the Farm for several generations.
The origin of the name Cove Creek for the Eastern fork of the
large creek is unknown although it was clearly labeled "Cove Creek"
on the 1870 survey of the property.
Nathaniel C. Hale spent many years researching the life of
William Claiborne. In
this book Virginia Venturer published in 1951, he wrote the
following:
"When
Claiborne arrived in August of 1631, he instructed Mr. Watlington to
head the Africa straight for a narrow gut leading to a fine
anchorage in an inlet he had previously discovered.
It was on the eastern side of the island about two
miles northeast of Kent Point.
This cove could hide two ships or galley ships of
five hundred tun, so well protected was it.
Emptying into the little bay were the two branches
of Long Creek, between them being "an Isthmos of low hard ground
like a Ton environed with fresh water.
Just above on a ten-foot rise, the court could be
built.
In the vicinity there was "good Mead and rich land, and Woods stored
with all game."
Bears, deer, rabbits and squirrels were plentiful on the island and
the mainland. Geese,
ducks, wild turkeys, and multitudes of swans and other water fowl
abounded here. There
was also such a variety of fish and seafood
easily caught that Claiborne's men were a bit picky about
what they ate.
When at one time later they were reduced to eating the large roasted
oysters so relished by the Indians the venturers thought they were
close to starvation, although
a mixed stew of wild turkey and oysters was considered a fair dish.
There were predatory animals too, wolves that howled and
"lyons," or bobcats that screamed.
But all in all it bid fair to be a paradise to the
Englishmen, with its mocking-birds and flying squirrels so highly
prized as pets at home, and with the nearby marshes and lowlands of
fern and lush grass swarming with fur-bearing beaver, otter,.."
He also built the first boat in Maryland, a small sailboat called a
pinnace, which Claiborne named the "Long Tayle." In addition to
planting gardens and orchards, Claiborne stocked farms with cattle
and planted tobacco, starting Maryland’s famous tobacco economy that
sustained the colonists and dominated colonial life until the 1800s
when corn and wheat replaced it as Maryland’s main crops.
Unfortunately, due to 350 years of erosion, today the remains of the
settlement are most likely underwater.
Since Kent Fort was established and planted by Virginians
prior to Calvert's charter, Virginia claimed Kent Island as part of
Virginia. Governor
Calvert of Maryland did not approve of this claim by Claiborne and
Virginia and proceeded to make life difficult for the Kent
Islanders. As a result,
there were a number of sea battles between the Islanders and the
Marylanders. These were the first battles between Englishmen in the
Chesapeake Bay. The
King finally declared Kent Island to be Maryland's, destroying
Claiborne's position in the colony.
Records are not specific as to the ownership and use of the
property for the first 180 years from the earliest English
settlements on the property until the year of 1811.
Many of the earlier records are thought to have been
destroyed in a fire of the first courthouse.
In 1811, the total property consisted of a 370-acre farm
known as Long Point Farm.
It was divided into two parts, the southern part consisting
of 250 acres and the northern part being 120 acres.
In the early 70's developers Milton and Barbara Kettler purchased a
340-acre farm on Kent Island as a hunting and fishing destination
for their friends and business associates.
Those who experienced the beauty of this farm encouraged the
Kettlers to develop it as The Cove Creek Club. The community was
carefully planned to preserve and enhance the natural beauty and
activities provided by its unique coastal setting. The developers
sought to achieve an overall sense of visual harmony between the
built environment and the natural environment.
When the Kettlers began construction in January 1979, Milton Kettler
enthusiastically said, “Putting together the best place in the world
to live is a lot of fun!”
Members are undeniably having fun in “the best place in the world”
enjoying golf, tennis, bocce, bridge, poker, yacht club, fishing,
canoeing, kayaking, biking, walking, holiday parties, crab feasts
and many other get-togethers.
This sense of community is the essence of The Cove
Creek Club.
William Claiborne
Kent Island
Kent Island Today: Cove Creek Club Marina
Milton and Barbara Kettler
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