At 310 Love Point Road, a bell that once hung on the 1929 ferry John M. Dennis is on display in a schoolhouse built in 1870. Across the room is the millstone from Clayford Plantation, where William Claiborne lived after he set up Kent Fort in 1631. A short walk away there's a case of decoys carved by the men in "The Forgotten Seven: The Decoy Carvers of Kent Island." All three now sit together in a museum that opened this spring.
The Kent Island Heritage Center opened in May in the renovated Queen Anne's County School House. It's both a museum and the headquarters of the Kent Island Heritage Society. Its fall schedule is short, though. According to a county notice posted September 4, 2026, the center is open every Saturday in September and October from noon to 4 p.m., then on the first Saturday in November, and after that only by special request. From today, that leaves six open Saturdays: October 3, 10, 17, 24 and 31, plus November 7.
Those six Saturdays now shape the village's fall calendar. The first and last are the busiest days of the season, and the four in the middle are the quiet ones.
A Museum Built From a Former Treasurer's Estate
The grand opening was held at 1 p.m. on Kent Island Day, May 16, and the county's announcement said the estate of Lynne Riley-Coleman, a former Heritage Society treasurer, made the center possible. Heritage Society President Jack Broderick, who also chairs the Kent Island Day parade, runs an organization that has staged the May festival since 1977. That was the year Acting Governor Blair Lee signed a proclamation recognizing Kent Island as the first permanent English settlement in Maryland.
The county describes the center's docents as knowledgeable guides ready to talk through the collection. The displays start with the archaeological record of the island's early Native American inhabitants and the people who traded with Claiborne at Kent Fort. If you have questions about a particular object, plan to visit on a Saturday afternoon while the doors are open.
The Heritage Society's other sites run on a different rhythm. Historic Christ Church, the Cray House, the Stevensville Train Station and its caboose, the Stevensville Bank Building, the Old Stevensville Post Office, and the James E. Kirwan House and Store are open for free tours only on the first Saturday of each month, noon to 4 p.m., through November.
Put the two schedules together and you get this:
| Saturday | Heritage Center | Six historic sites | Also in the village |
|---|---|---|---|
| October 3 | Open noon–4 | Open noon–4 | ARToberfest, 11 a.m.–3 p.m. |
| October 10 | Open noon–4 | Closed | |
| October 17 | Open noon–4 | Closed | |
| October 24 | Open noon–4 | Closed | |
| October 31 | Open noon–4 | Closed | |
| November 7 | Open noon–4 | Open noon–4 | Car and Truck Show, 9 a.m.–3:15 p.m. |
October 3 Puts Everything on One Afternoon
This Saturday, ARToberfest and the first-Saturday tours land on the same day. Queen Anne's County Parks and Recreation presents ARToberfest with the Stevensville Arts & Entertainment District from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. It's free and open to all ages. The county's event listing gives the address as Historic Stevensville, 109 Cockey Lane.
As of mid-September, the county's lineup had singer-songwriter Sadia at 11 a.m. and La Unica at 1 p.m. Jimmy's Fat Rolls was the named food truck and Ink or Dye Tattoos the named artisan, with more vendors still to come. For weather updates, the county points to rainoutline.com, its QACPR social accounts, and a subscribe line at 410-202-0705.
The festival opens an hour before the historic buildings do. Its last hour, from noon to 3 p.m., overlaps with the Heritage Center and all six first-Saturday sites being open. On one afternoon you could hear La Unica, walk through the Cray House and the caboose, and still get to the schoolhouse museum before 4 p.m. Expect crowds, since all of it happens on the same few blocks at the same time.
The Middle Saturdays Belong to the Museum
From October 10 through October 31, the Heritage Center is the only Heritage Society building with posted hours. That makes those four Saturdays the best time for an unhurried visit and longer conversations with docents about the ferry bell or the decoys.
Three of those weekends have a big draw a few miles east. The free Kent Narrows Boat Expo runs Friday through Sunday, October 9–11, 16–18 and 23–25, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Boats line the docks from Knot 10 Yacht Sales to Fisherman's Village, the Crab Deck and Hyatt Place. The expo opens two hours before the Heritage Center, so you can do the docks in the morning and Stevensville in the afternoon.
If you're thinking of a Saturday farmers' market stop, the Kent Island Farmers' Market meets on Thursdays. It runs year-round at Cult Classic Brewery, 1169 Shopping Center Road, from 3:30 to 6 p.m. in summer and fall.
November 7 Closes the Season
The last open Saturday is also the busiest one. The 11th Historic Stevensville Car and Truck Show is listed for Saturday, November 7, from 9 a.m. to 3:15 p.m., around Love Point Road and Cray House Green near Amalfi's at 401 Love Point Road. Partners include the Kent Island Cruisers, the Kent Island Heritage Society, Queen Anne's County Tourism and local businesses.
It's the last first-Saturday tour of the year for the six historic sites, and the last posted Saturday for the Heritage Center. After that, a visit needs a special request. You can reach the Heritage Society through kentislandheritagesociety.org, by email at [email protected], or at 410-829-7760.
Filling the Hours Around Noon to 4
The museum opens at noon, and the village has something open well before that. Each stop below comes from Visit Queen Anne's County's Historic Stevensville itinerary or the business's own site. Hours change with the season, so check before you go.
- Ground Work at the Corner, 111 Cockey Lane, for coffee, juice and breakfast treats. The county itinerary lists it as open from as early as 8 a.m.
- My Little Studio & Island Arts, 321 Love Point Road, a shared gallery selling work by local artists. Its own site lists Saturday hours of 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- Half Full Gift Boutique, 480 Main Street, Suite 100, with local and artisan-made gifts. The store is open Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
- Amalfi Coast Italian & Wine Bar, 401 Love Point Road, which the itinerary lists as a lunch stop opening at 11 a.m. The restaurant takes reservations through its website.
- Kent Island Heritage Center, 310 Love Point Road, noon to 4 p.m.
- Kent Island Federation of Arts, 405 Main Street, with gallery hours Thursday through Sunday, 1 to 4 p.m. The volunteer-run gallery asks visitors to call ahead. Its exhibits page lists a Bannon Studio Student Show in the Members Gallery through November 9.
- Tasty Toucan, 400 Love Point Road, listed as an afternoon stop for handcrafted ice cream and fruit pops.
To start or end on foot or by bike, the Cross Island Trail runs 6.5 miles east to west between Terrapin Nature Park and the Chesapeake Heritage and Visitor Center. On the Stevensville side, the trail runs through Old Love Point Park, which has parking. The county's itinerary lists a trail access point at 300 Old Love Point Road and notes that Terrapin Nature Park is reachable from there by foot or bicycle. A morning ride to Terrapin and back still gets you to Love Point Road by the time the schoolhouse opens at noon.
Historic Stevensville is on the National Register of Historic Places and is an official Maryland Arts and Entertainment District. After November 7, the Heritage Center opens by special request.
If you're a Kent Island neighbor with history worth sharing, whether that's a family house near Love Point Road or a story about the island that deserves more attention, the team at Chesapeake Home Team would love to hear it. We're always glad to talk about the island over coffee at Ground Work, and about your home whenever you're ready. Let's Connect.
