Saint Croix Island, Maine 473419 225039717 2008-07-11T16:23:59Z Appraiser 1910434 clarify {{Infobox_protected_area | name = Saint Croix Island<br>International Historic Site | iucn_category = III | image = US_Locator_Blank.svg | caption = | locator_x = 277 | locator_y = 23 | location = [[Washington County, Maine]], [[United States|USA]] | nearest_city = [[Calais, Maine]] | lat_degrees = 45 | lat_minutes = 7 | lat_seconds = 42 | lat_direction = N | long_degrees = 67 | long_minutes = 8 | long_seconds = 0 | long_direction = W | area = 44.90 acres<font size="-2"> (22.44 federal)</font><br>0.18 km² | established = [[June 8]], [[1949]] | visitation_num = | visitation_year = | governing_body = [[National Park Service]] }}<!-- No visitation data is available in the NPS database. --> [[Image:Buildings on Saint Croix Island - circa 1613 - Project Gutenberg etext 20110.jpg|thumb|Buildings on Saint Croix Island, 1613]] :''[[Saint Croix]] is also an island in the [[United States Virgin Islands]]'' '''Saint Croix Island''' ([[French language|French]]: ''Île Sainte-Croix''), long known to locals as '''Dochet Island''', is a small uninhabited island in [[Maine]] near the mouth of the [[St. Croix River (Maine-New Brunswick)|Saint Croix River]] that forms part of the [[International Boundary]] separating Maine from [[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 [[Mile|mi]] (6 [[kilometres|km]]) upstream from the mouth of the river on [[Passamaquoddy Bay]]. The island was the site of an early attempt at [[French colonization of the Americas]]. In 1984 it was designated by the [[United States Congress]] as '''Saint Croix Island International Historic Site'''. There is no public access to the island, but there is a [[visitor center]] on the U.S. mainland and a display on the Canadian mainland opposite the island. ==St. Croix Settlement== The island was called '''Muttoneguis''' by the [[Passamaquoddy]] Nation who had used or lived on the island for numerous centuries before European discovery. French nobleman [[Pierre Dugua Sieur de Monts|Pierre Dugua de Monts (Sieur de Monts)]] established a settlement on Saint Croix Island in June of 1604 under the authority of the King of [[France]]. This outpost was one of the first attempts by France at year-round colonization in the territory they called [[Acadia|l'Acadie]]. Earlier attempts by [[Cartier]] at [[Charlesbourg-Royal]] in 1541, at [[Tadoussac]] in 1544, and at [[Sable Island]] in 1598 had failed. Cartographer [[Samuel de Champlain]] was part of the Dugua expedition and settlement on the small river island. The following spring in 1605, after a harsh winter during which more than half the settlers perished due to a "land-sickness" believed to be [[scurvy]], the settlement was moved to a new location on the southern shore of the [[Bay of Fundy]] called [[Habitation at Port-Royal|Port-Royal]]. Champlain had discovered this new location earlier in the spring during a shoreline reconnaissance of the Bay of Fundy for a more suitable settlement site. In 1608, Samuel de Champlain and some of the settlers moved from Port-Royal to a settlement on the [[Saint Lawrence River]] that later became [[Quebec City|Québec]]. ==Heritage of St. Croix Island== During a boundary dispute between [[Kingdom of Great Britain|Britain]] and the U.S. in 1797, the island was deemed 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 subsequently reburied in 2003. Analysis of the bones showed that many of them had indications of scurvy, confirming the cause of the deaths described by Champlain. One skull showed signs of having been autopsied which Champlain wrote that he had ordered to try to discover the cause of their illness.[http://www.livescience.com/history/061101_ap_earliest_autopsy.html] The island was neutral territory in the [[War of 1812]], leading it to be sometimes called '''Neutral Island'''. Named by the French, '''Ile Ste-Croix''', the island has also been called '''Demont's Island''' and '''Doucett Island'''. ==International Historic Site== In 1949, the island was designated '''Saint Croix Island National Monument''' by the United States Congress. The monument was listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]] on [[October 15]], [[1966]]. It was given its current designation by Congress as an [[National Historical Park|International Historic Site]] on [[September 25]], [[1984]], a unique designation in the National Park System of the United States. Since 1968, the island's historical sites have been managed by the [[National Park Service]] (U.S.) under [[Acadia National Park]], in consultation with [[Parks Canada]] which maintains a viewing and interpretation site on the New Brunswick side of the river. The two nations routinely cooperate on commemorative activities and promotions. Special commemorations by the two nations in 2004 marked the 400th anniversary of French settlement in North America. ==See also== * [[Popham Colony]] * [[Habitation at Port-Royal]] ==External links== * [http://www.pc.gc.ca/lhn-nhs/nb/stcroix/index_e.asp Parks Canada: Saint Croix Island International Historic Site] * [http://www.nps.gov/sacr/ National Park Service: Saint Croix Island International Historic Site] * [http://www.stecroix2004.org Sainte-Croix 2004] * [http://collections.ic.gc.ca/saintcroixisland Isle Sainte-Croix] * [http://collections.ic.gc.ca/ile-ste-croix Île Sainte-Croix] * [http://web.archive.org/web/20041010233349/http://www.stecroix2004.org/en/history.htm St. Croix Island History] (From the [[Internet Archive]]) * [http://www.happyones.com/franco-american/st-croix/ St-Croix: 1604-2004] * [http://www.nfb.ca/trouverunfilm/fichefilm.php?id=53944&v=h&lg=en&exp= Life After Ile Ste-Croix] {{Protected Areas of Maine}} {{New Brunswick parks}} {{Registered Historic Places}} [[Category:History of New Brunswick]] [[Category:Islands of Maine]] [[Category:International Historic Sites in Maine]] [[Category:Peace parks]] [[Category:Uninhabited islands of the United States]] [[Category:Washington County, Maine]] [[Category:Canada-United States border disputes]] [[Category:Acadian history]] [[de:Saint Croix Island]] [[fr:Île Sainte-Croix]] [[sv:Saint Croix Island]]