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recrossed the area along the Patuxent Eiver below 

 where Laurel, Maryland, is now. Algonquians 

 were in the area most continuously about the time 

 of the arrival of the Europeans. 



The Patuxent Indians were Algonquian stock. 

 Their principal village, called Patuxent, was lo- 

 cated in what is now Calvert County, Maryland. 

 Ethnologists are not certain but they think that 

 these Indians were closely related to the Conoy, if 

 not an actual part of them. In 1608 Captain John 

 Smith estimated the strength of the Patuxent vil- 

 lage at about 40 warriors, which would mean a 

 community population of about 200. 



Wliat is the meaning of the word Patuxent? 

 The exact meaning is not known, but linguists who 

 have studied Algonquian dialects think that it is 

 related in meaning to Patuxet, which was the name 

 of a Massachusetts village on the site of Plymouth. 

 The Indians there told the colonists that Patuxet 

 meant "at the little fall." It is possible that the 

 Patuxent village in Maryland was located near a 

 small falls or rapids and obtained its name in that 

 fashion. 



The Patuxent Indians were a friendly people 

 and they got along well with the Maryland col- 

 onists for as long as the tribe existed. Remnants 

 of the Patuxent Tribe and certain other groups 

 were gathered onto a reservation at the head of 

 the Wicomico River in 1651. 



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