settlement burned down in the winter of 1631–32 but was quickly rebuilt, and in 1634 the settlement included a gristmill, courthouse, and trading station. Following the formation of the province of Maryland, Claiborne continued to recognize the island as part of his home colony of Virginia, while Cecilius Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore recognized it as part of Maryland. Claiborne was forced from and returned to the island twice before leaving permanently in 1658, thus effectively ending the disputes. Virginia's official claims to the island, however, continued until 1776. Industrial Revolution Until the early 19th century, Kent Island was used almost entirely for farming of tobacco and corn, however that ended due to the depletion of nutrient-rich soil as a result of the lack of crop rotation and poor farming practices. The island's economy went into decline while the soil recovered, except for the port town of Broad Creek. This began to change around the time of the Industrial Revolution. In 1850, the town of Stevensville, was founded after the sale of farms owned by James and Charles Stevens and prospered as a major hub for steamboat travel across the Chesapeake Bay. Stevensville was also the home of a railroad station known as the Stevensville Train Depot that was located near the western end of a railroad that carried ferry passengers to other parts of the Eastern Shore. Also during this time, small resorts on the shores of the Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean were established in the area. Such a resort existed at Love Point, to the north of Stevensville. Farming returned to the economy in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries with farmers growing crops including corn, wheat, berries, and melons. Many of the island's inhabitants worked as watermen in the expanding seafood industry capitalizing on the Chesapeake's supply of Maryland Blue Crab, rockfish, and oysters. Twentieth century As roads replaced railroads and steamboats into the twentieth century, there was a growing need for a road bridge connecting the two shores of the Chesapeake Bay. In 1952 the Chesapeake Bay Bridge was completed, connecting the island directly to the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area. The bridge completely replaced the steamboat system and also led to further growth of Kent Island and the rest of the Eastern Shore. In 1973, to accommodate growing traffic across the bay, the bridge was expanded with an additional span built next to the existing one. Then,