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Selden Island

This article is about the island in Maryland. For the archaeological site in Connecticut, see Selden Island Site.

Selden Island is a 408-acre island in the Potomac River, located about 32 km (20 mi) WNW of Washington, D.C., United States. It is about 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) long and 0.4–0.5 kilometres (0.25–0.31 mi) wide. Although it is located within Montgomery County, Maryland, the only road access is via a bridge connecting it to the Loudoun County, Virginia side of the river.

Archaeological evidence indicates the island has been a site of human activity since the Early Woodland period, around 1000 BC. A characteristic type of pottery known as Selden Island ware dates from this period.[1] It is also the site of a significant Late Woodland period settlement known as the Walker Prehistoric Village, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1975.[2]

In 2002, following the diagnosis of two Loudoun County teenagers with malaria, mosquitoes from the island were found to carry the Plasmodium vivax malarial parasite.[3]

In 2004, Selden Island was purchased by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute as an addition to the Janelia Farm Research Campus.[4] It was formerly leased as a sod farm.

References

  1. ^ "Diagnostic Artifacts in Maryland". Maryland Archaeological Conservation Laboratory. Retrieved 1 January 2014.
  2. ^ "Walker Prehistoric Village Archeological Site". Maryland Historical Trust. Retrieved 15 February 2011.
  3. ^ Hopkins Tanne, Janice (19 October 2002). "Teenagers catch malaria from local mosquitoes near Washington, DC". British Medical Journal. 325 (7369): 854. doi:10.1136/bmj.325.7369.854/c. PMC 1169563. PMID 12386025.
  4. ^ "HHMI Opens the Doors to Discovery at the Janelia Farm Research Campus". Howard Hughes Medical Institute. 6 September 2006. Retrieved 28 July 2014.