St. Croix Island International Historic Site
| Saint Croix Island International Historic Site |
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St. Croix Island seen from the New Brunswick interpretive center
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| Location | Washington County, Maine |
| Nearest city | Calais, Maine |
| Coordinates | 45°7′42″N 67°8′0″W / 45.12833°N 67.13333°WCoordinates: 45°7′42″N 67°8′0″W / 45.12833°N 67.13333°W |
| Area | 44.90 acres (18.17 ha) 22.44 acres (0.0908 km2) federal |
| Established | June 8, 1949 (U.S. National Monument); 1968 (Cdn. National Historic Event); 1984 (International Historic Site) |
| Governing body | U.S. National Park Service and Parks Canada |
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 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 acre (26,000 m2) island measures approximately 200 yd (182.9 m) long by 100 yd (91.4 m) wide, and is located approximately 4 mi (6 km) upstream from the mouth of the river on Passamaquoddy Bay.
The island was called Muttoneguis by the Passamaquoddy Nation, which had used or lived there for numerous centuries before European discovery.
French noble Pierre Dugua, Sieur de Mons, established a settlement on Saint Croix Island in June 1604 under the authority of Henry IV, King of France. This outpost was one of the first attempts by France at year-round colonization in the territory they called l'Acadie. Earlier attempts at Charlesbourg-Royal in 1541 by Jacques Cartier, at Sable Island in 1598 by Marquis de La Roche-Mesgouez, and at Tadoussac, Quebec in 1600 by François Gravé Du Pont, had failed.
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