Broomes Island, Maryland

Broomes Island, Maryland is a small waterfront community in Calvert County, Maryland, USA, on the Patuxent River. It is located approximately 10 miles south of Prince Frederick, Maryland.

Although Broomes Island is a rather small community, it does have its own post office and zip code, 20615. In November 2007, the United States Postal Service considered closing the small post office and re-routing all mail delivery through the larger St. Leonard post office branch [Cite web|url=http://www.somdnews.com/stories/112307/recmor160203_32096.shtml|author=Erica Mitrano, Calvert Recorder|title=Broomes Island post office may close, affect locals|date=2007-11-23] ; however, after residents contacted U.S. Senator Barbara Mikulski about the proposed closure, the postal service decided against closing the post office. [Cite web|url=http://mikulski.senate.gov/record.cfm?id=290801|author=U.S. Senator Barbara A. Mikulski, News Release|title=Mikulski Succeeds in Fight to Keep Broomes Island Post Office Open |date=2008-01-18]

Broomes Island is located near the mouth of St. Leonard Creek, the largest tributary entirely inside Calvert County. It is in the vicinity of Broomes Island that several key naval battles were fought during the War of 1812.

During the early and middle parts of the 20th century, Broomes Island was home to a substantial oyster canning industry. However, in more recent years most residents of Broomes Island commute to other places for work.

Each May, former Maryland State Senator Bernie Fowler holds a "wade-in" into the Patuxent River at Broomes Island, where he and others will walk into the waters of the Patuxent River until their feet are no longer visible. Fowler does the annual tradition in order to bring awareness to the water clarity levels of the Patuxent River. In recent years, the "wade-in" has become a noteworthy public event, with numerous public officials joining Fowler in the walk, including Maryland Governors Martin O'Malley and Robert Ehrlich and U.S Senator Barbara Mikulski.

In 2003, Hurricane Isabel caused moderate damage to numerous structures in Broomes Island.

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