Saint Croix Island, Maine
island in Washington County, Maine, United States
Saint Croix Island (French: Île Sainte-Croix), long known to locals as Dochet Island (), is a small uninhabited island in Maine near the mouth of the Saint Croix River that forms part of the Canada–United States border separating Maine from New Brunswick. The island is in the heart of the traditional lands of the Passamaquoddy people who, according to oral tradition, used it to store food away from the dangers of mainland animals. The island was the site of an early attempt at French colonization by Pierre Dugua, Sieur de Mons in 1604. 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 contact station on the U.S. mainland and a display on the Canadian mainland opposite the island.
The 6.5 acres (26,000 m2) island measures approximately 200 by 100 yards (183 m × 91 m) and is located approximately 4 miles (6.4 km) upstream from the mouth of the river on Passamaquoddy Bay.
History
Names
The Passamaquoddy Nation, who had lived around and used the island for numerous centuries before European discovery used several names for the island including Muttoneguis, Muttoneguamus, Metanegwis, and Metnegwis.
"Captain Nicola Anawan, 67 years old, said the Indians called the Magaguadavic the St. Croix, because there was a cross put up there by the French, and the whole river was called St. Croix when he was a boy, and did not know that the Scoudiac was ever called St.
The public source identifies “Saint Croix Island, Maine” as island in Washington County, Maine, United States. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Saint, Croix and Island.
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Maps, plans, fabric surveys and administrative records can establish how the site’s name, extent and function changed over time. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 6, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1026700. VIAF identifies the subject as 235229804. The Library of Congress control number is sh99004021. Authority coordinates are 45.128, -67.133. 2 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1604 and 1984.
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This entry incorporates text from “Saint Croix Island, Maine” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.