Creek and the Patuxent River. The art show is located on Kingston Creek and features artwork and crafts from local St. Mary’s County and Southern Maryland artists as well as artists from the Fredericksburg, Virginia area. For this event, the artists include: Mary Lou Troutman, Eduardo King, Jenn Goddard, Wayne Russell, Therese Vogel, Judy Green, David Zippi, Sharon Blancard, Pandora Christy, Pam Gore Hicks, and Stewart Wegner.
Admission is FREE and Plein Air artists are welcome to bring their materials and paint water scenes of Kingston Creek, Spring flowers in bloom and the property. The location of the festival is at the base of the Solomon’s Island bridge on the St. Mary’s County side (MD Route 4) at 23720 West Patuxent Beach Road in California, Maryland.
Music will be by Joseph Norris and friends from 12-3PM. Food and drink will be available for purchase from “Linda’s on the Go”.
The Kingston Creek area and the adjacent Town Creek area are rich in historic architecture, boat builders, boat captains, watermen and bars. The Kingston House is located on Kingston and was built by Captain King around 1652. It’s said that the house is haunted by Mrs. King, who walks the grounds when the moon is full. After living there for 27 years, she was left alone when her husband left on a sailing trip and never returned. Other historical architecture treasures in the area included Seven Gables Hotel, which is now a boating facility and the Myrtle Pont mansion, built around 1860 on the Patuxent River.
The Kingston Creek area was also home to boat Captains such as Captain Bill Dixon, Captain Arthur McConnell and Captain Harry Huseman. These men were some of the best watermen and oysterers in St. Mary’s County. Thomas St. Claire was a boat builder and specialized in oyster boats. His first boat was the 37 foot, Ethel Marie, built for James Clements in 1949.
There were also several bars in this small area. The Town Creek Marina bar was well known to all residents in St. Mary’s County. It faced the Patuxent River and today is a fishing pier. Dick Stone had a small bar on Town Creek where the locals would gather each to play pool and have a few drinks. Today, the location is still active with crabbing and oystering activities.