The island is the site of the first settlement in Bermuda, when Christopher Carter and Edward Waters built shelters there in 1610, and remained behind after other survivors of the 1609 wreck of Sea Venture sailed for Jamestown, Virginia.

Somers died while Chard and a ship's dog joined the Carter and Waters.

Sometimes dubbed the "Three Kings of Bermuda",[4] Waters, Carter, and Chard hunted, fished, and farmed the land.

[5] The Somers Isles Company had supplied Carter, Chard, and Waters 81 varieties of seeds to trial garden, including tobacco, maize, and watermelon.

[8] Like other Bermuda demonyms, Smith's Island was named in tribute to Governor Thomas Smythe (whose surname was spelled several ways), an investor of the Somers Isles Company.