JUG BAY NATURAL AREA

By Clayton Davis

You can hike eight miles of rugged wilderness trails and go kayaking in the Jug Bay Natural Area, a beautiful and peaceful place twenty miles southeast of Washington, D.C. Maps do not clearly spell out all the wonders of nature hidden deep in these woods. You will find endangered birds and animals living happily here in protected seclusion. For example, bluebirds are nesting in fifty boxes spread out over 2,000 acres.

The Jug Bay Natural Area is located in the Patuxent River Watershed Park, as innocent and pristine as it was when the ice age ended. You need a permit, because it is a limited-use natural area set aside by the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission in Prince George's County, Maryland.

Land acquisition and planning for the park started in the 1960's when a law was passed to preserve portions of seven Maryland counties that border on the Patuxent River. More than 6,000 acres of marshes, swamps, and woodlands are protected.

Primitive tent camping is available for organized groups. Croom Airport, a large open field, can accommodate groups of 15 to 200. A scenic isolated site is also available for smaller groups. Water and firewood are supplied. Croom Airport is also available for organized day-use activities. Fees are charged for camping and day-use areas.

Croom Airport has an interesting history. The story started May 1, 1940, when a group of African-American men incorporated the Cloud Club in Washington, D.C. They began flying at Beacon Field, Alexandria, in their own airplane, a 1939 Piper Cub Coupe. Things did not go smoothly for the Cloud Club in Alexandria, Virginia. Very soon they were accused of violating airfield rules. Management gave the Cloud Club a message loud and clear, "We don't want your kind here. Find someplace else."

Never doubting their destiny, the Cloud Club looked around and found the perfect setting, a 450 acre potato field near Croom, Maryland. They leased the potato field for fifty dollars a month from Rebecca Fisher.

The first flight from Croom Field is noted in the logbook of a student pilot, William H. Rhodes on February 22, 1941. Pilot and mechanic John W. Greene, Jr., was the manager.

The U.S. Navy took over the field and used it for training during World War II. After the war, Croom Airport reverted to civilian status until 1956, when the Fisher family refused to renew the lease.

The property, however, was not allowed to disappear into obscurity. Instead, it became part of the Patuxent River Watershed Park as the first purchase of the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission.

The Jug Bay Natural Area has eight miles of woodland hiking and riding trails. No horses or stables are available on site, but visitors are welcome to trailer their horses in. A park permit is required for hikers and riders.

There are three public boat ramps. No overnight tieups or fuel facilities are available. A special-use permit is required for boating. Restrictions apply and parking is limited.

Jug Bay is excellent for canoeing and kayaking. Visitors may rent canoes from the park. They must be sixteen years of age or have prior canoeing experience. Paddles and life jackets are provided.

Several fishing areas are located at Jug Bay. Good tidal fishing can be found year-round. A Chesapeake Bay Sport Fishing license is required and is available at the park office.

The Black Walnut Creek Nature Study Area provides a unique opportunity to observe the tidal and non-tidal wetlands of the Patuxent River. Boardwalks provide easy access to these freshwater wetlands dominated by wild rice, cattails, and skunk cabbage.

Patuxent Village is an outdoor exhibit area dedicated to the way of life along the river in the nineteenth century. Exhibits include a smoke house, a tobacco packing barn, several hunting, trapping, and fishing sheds, and a log cabin that has been standing 150 years.

The W. Henry Duvall Tool Museum contains over 1,000 nineteenth-century tools and memorabilia. Over a period of more than fifty years, Duvall visited neighboring farms of southern Maryland and collected old farm implements, domestic items and hand tools.

Mrs. Elizabeth Duvall, his widow, donated several rare hand tools to the Smithsonian, but eventually sold the entire collection to The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, who agreed to house the collection at Patuxent River Watershed Park. Duvall had always expressed an interest in the tools continuing to serve an educational purpose.

The Commission, with the volunteer help of the Maryland State Fox Chasers Association, constructed a new museum building at the Jug Bay Natural Area of the Patuxent River Park in Croom, Maryland. Family, friends, and interested groups dedicated the W. Henry Duvall Tool Museum in 1983. Through the generous donation of the Brandywine Lions Club, a second museum building has been constructed, which will highlight agricultural history.

There is a four-mile driving tour connecting Jug Bay Natural Area with the Merkle Wildlife Sanctuary. The tour features educational displays, observation towers, and a thousand-foot bridge across the Mattaponi Creek.

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources has set aside an upland area for squirrel and rabbit hunting. A bow and arrow area for deer is open to licensed hunters. A number of waterfowl blinds can be leased on a seasonal basis.

Leave the paved road and go on foot. You'll be seeing southern Maryland the way it was in days gone by. Woods, fields, birds and wildlife welcome you to their home, a place of unspoiled beauty.

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DIRECTIONS:

Drive east from Washington, D.C., then turn south on highway 301 at Upper Marlboro, Maryland. Go about four miles south of the intersection of Pennsylvania Avenue and route 301. Turn left at route 382. Another three miles and turn left at Croom Airport Road. It is three more miles to the site. Be careful. The road takes a sharp right turn after 1.3 miles.

PARK REGULATIONS:

1.) Park Hours: The park is open daily from 8:00 a.m. until dusk with seasonal adjustments. The park office is open daily from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The opening and closing times are posted at the main park entrance gate.

2.) No ground fires are permitted. Fires are permitted only in designated areas.

3.) Alcoholic beverages are prohibited except by special permit.

4.) Visitors are encouraged to find alternatives to throwaway caps or bottles.

5.) Not all Patuxent River parklands are open to the public at this time, only designated supervised areas.

6.) For more information, permit applications, or program reservations, call or write:

Patuxent River Park
6000 Croom Airport Road
Upper Marlboro, MD 20772-8395
Tel. (301) 627-6074

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