The Patuxent or Pawtuxent were one of the Native American tribes living along the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay. They spoke an Algonquian language and were loosely dominated by the Piscataway. Living along the Patuxent River, they were among the first people taught by Andrew White. The first European to explore the river was Capt. John Smith who sailed 40 miles of it in 1608, writing: “On the west side of the Bay were five faire and delightful navigable rivers the fifth river is called Pawtuxent.”