Saint Croix Island International Historic Site ⓘ

The Wabanaki Confederacy, the people of the dawn, have lived in harmony with the land and waters of what is now called Maine for more than 13,000 years. We recognize that Saint Croix Island International Historic Site sits upon ancestral, unceded homelands of the Passamaquoddy, ‘the people who spear pollock’. The island represents the first contact between the French and Passamaquoddy. The French understood little about the land and environment, and they were assisted in their survival by the Passamaquoddy following the harsh winter of 1604-05. We acknowledge the Passamaquoddy people are a distinct, sovereign, legal and political entity with their own powers of self-governance and self-determination and still reside in their ancestral homeland Sipayik, Motahkomikuk, Qonasqamkuk.

The Passamaquoddy cared for the land and lived collaboratively with it. The Passamaquoddy people roamed through the area in accordance with the seasons, dictated by the availability of food. Summers would be spent around the coasts and islands of the area. They would harvest seafood and sweetgrass for basket making. With the cold weather, they moved inland and hunted bigger game for food and other materials of value for living.

The Passamaquoddy were not the only people to recognize the abundance of seafood in the area. European explorers came to the area of modern-day Nova Scotia and Maine to find that the waters of the region were rich in cod. After fishing extensively, the Portuguese made some landfall and kidnapped native people to sell in Europe to help finance their trips. Though the Portuguese were the dominant power in northern North America in the 1500s, the French would eventually start to explore the area. While the Europeans wanted to control and own lands, the Passamaquoddy and other members of the Wabanaki Confederacy did not see land as something to be owned, but instead as something to be shared and cared for.

Located on the ancestral homelands of the Wabanaki, Saint Croix Island International Historic Site commemorated the first French attempt to colonize the territory they called l’Acadie. This site tells the story of one of the earliest European settlements in North America. In 1604, Pierre Dugua, Sieur de Mons, sailed from France across the Atlantic Ocean to North America to pursue his beaver pelt monopoly. 78 men, including cartographer Samuel Champlain, stayed with Dugua for the winter. The men found Saint Croix Island to be defensible against any other European attempts to take their claim. The French set to work immediately, building a number of dwellings and a storehouse, and fortifying the island with a single cannon facing down the river. Wheat was planted on the mainland, though they would find out that the island’s soil was far too sandy to grow crops. The Frenchmen met the Passamaquoddy who supplied the furs the French sought in exchange for hatchets, knives, glass beads, metal cookware, and other goods. For many Passamaquoddy, this was their first direct encounter with Europeans.

Unfortunately, as winter came about, the French would find that the climate was not similar to that of France. Having only salted port and bread to eat, the Frenchmen lacked an intake of vitamin C and fell prey to scurvy. 35 out of the 79 men died of this disease, and were buried in a small unmarked cemetery on Saint Croix Island. In the following spring of 1605, the Passamaquoddy returned from their winter sojourn to the shores of Saint Croix Island. With their help, the health of the remaining French improved. Pierre Dugua made the decision to move their community to Port Royale, in today’s Nova Scotia. The valuable insights gained from that winter on Saint Croix Island formed the foundations of ‘successful’ settlements by the French and solidified the presence of French people in North America.

Between 1604 and the 1800s, Saint Croix Island was owned by many private landowners. Throughout the 1800s, the mainland ‘red beach’ area was used for industrial purposes by locals. Shipbuilding and granite quarrying were small industries for a time, though there are no remnants of these uses within the park.

The Red Beach Plaster Mill was on the larger side of industrial operations that took place in the area that now holds our interpretive trail. When the tide recedes, wooden remains of the mill complex can be seen near the rocky beach. Click here to learn more about the Red Beach Industrial Complex. Opening in 1856, the Saint Croix River Light would remain active for about 100 years. It stood on the island as an octagonal structure built into the roof of the lighthouse keeper’s home. The light was automated towards the end of its time in operation. Unfortunately, the lighthouse was destroyed by a fire in 1976 – only the boathouse remains on Saint Croix Island today. Congress authorized the establishment of Saint Croix Island National Monument in 1949, which became effective on June 30, 1968. The NPS unit was redesignated as an international historic site on September 25, 1984. In 2004, bronze statues were fabricated to celebrate the 400th anniversary since the French landed on the mainland.

To learn more, view a timeline of Saint Croix Island's past 400 years and explore the articles, people, and places below.

While commemorating history was the primary reason for the establishment of Saint Croix Island International Historic Site, let's not forget how key the natural environment is the story of the Saint Croix settlement. The settlement was located at the confluence of two rivers for ease of trade with Wabanaki people who had been successfully living off land and sea here for a millennia. Pierre Dugua thought it would be an ideal location for his settlement due to an abundance of natural resources. They also thought the island would be easily defended against possible attacks by competing European powers. However, this was not the case. The exposed site intensified the impact of an already severe winter weather and challenged even the heartiest of the settlers. Visitors today can enjoy the abundance of wildlife including seals and birds. The 20+ foot tides set the natural rhythm of the day with their rise and fall and the weather changes by the minute. In this ever-changing place, scientists and park managers study the natural environment and are working to help confront the forces of man made climate change which threaten to make the island disappear forever.

Approximately twice per day, the water and islands of the St. Croix River reveal and extraordinary phenomenon: the extreme tides of the Maine coast. Learn more about this incredible phenomenon on our Tides & Tidepooling page.

Explore with your ears. The sounds at St. Croix Island and its surrounding shores are full of ear-tickling sounds. Often heard most often in the cool mist of the fog, loons give off a joyful, yet lonely birdsong that is distinct. These waterfowl feed from the bottom of the river and can dive for over 40 seconds swimming a length of 30 meters. When a loon disappears, it will pop up again at an extraordinary swim. Monogamous, a pair of loons will stay together. Loons typically lay only one or two eggs per season, and the eggs are not always laid at once. Sometimes three days can go in between an egg being laid. Male and female loons share incubation duties equally. Check out our Bird Watching page for more birding information.

Take a walk along the water’s edge in the early morning. Do you hear anything? Look out on the water. Do you see buoys that suddenly disappear? Keep watching. What you thought was a buoy was not one after all. The St. Croix River is home to thousands of harbor seals. Curious and a little skittish, they make ghostly sounds as they sit on the seaweed coated granite, especially at low tide. A little shy, seals will dive for up to a minute before popping their heads just above the surface showing their curious eyes. When bobbing, their nasal breathing sounds like gasps of air. Incredibly, the male harbor seal bulls can grow to over 500 pound and eight feet long. Long whiskered and creating memories for a lifetime, watching for seals on the St. Croix River can be incredibly rewarding.