MARYLAND AT A GLANCE

WATERWAYS

LIGHTHOUSES

• Historic Light Station Information: Maryland (U.S. Coast Guard)
• Maryland Lighthouses (by county)
• Take a Tour of Maryland's Lighthouses
• U.S. Aids to Navigation System: What You Need to Know About the Markers on the Water (U.S. Coast Guard)

Under contract for the United States Government, John Donahoo (1786–1858) of Havre de Grace built twelve of Maryland's lighthouses. These include the Blackistone Island Lighthouse, Clay Island Lighthouse, Concord Point Lighthouse, Cove Point Lighthouse, Fishing Battery Lighthouse, Fog Point Lighthouse, Lazaretto Point Lighthouse, Piney Point Lighthouse, Point Lookout Lighthouse, Pooles Island Lighthouse, Thomas Point Shoal Lighthouse, and the Turkey Point Lighthouse.

Seven-Foot Knoll Lighthouse (Historic Ships in Baltimore), Inner Harbor, Baltimore, Maryland, June 2015. Photo by Sarah A. Hanks.

Early lighthouses were simple and inexpensive. Some were built as integral lighthouses (houses with enclosed lights on top), while others were towers from which a light shone. Later, lighthouses tended to be more elaborate and therefore more costly to build.

Screw-pile lighthouses were structures perched on iron piles or stilts that were screwed into the sea floor, while caisson lighthouses displayed towers built atop round, hollow waterproof shells that were sunk to the bottom and filled with sand or concrete.

Lightships were ships that served as lighthouses. They had a light mounted on a tall mast. Later vessels usually were painted bright red with the station name in white letters. Multi-functional, they could be stationed in both shallow and deep waters, and could be moved according to need.

Lightship 116 Chesapeake (Historic Ships in Baltimore), Pier 3, Inner Harbor, Baltimore, Maryland, July 2015. Photo by Sarah A. Hanks.

Nun buoys are red, cylindrical, and have even numbers. They mark the starboard (right) side of the channel for vessels returning to land (thus the "3R" rule: "red, right, returning").

Green-lighted buoy, marking port (left) side of Baltimore Harbor channel for incoming vessels, Baltimore, Maryland, July 2015. Photo by Sarah A. Hanks.

Lighted buoys usually are found in deeper water, and their body and light color vary depending on their location. When they are green (including the light), they perform the same duties as can buoys, marking the port side of a channel for incoming vessels. When red, they mark the starboard side, like nun buoys. If buoys are red and green, the top color (with matching light, if present) indicates the preferred channel, and they may have letters.

Isolated Danger Marks are anchored on or near hidden dangers. They are black with red bands, and may have a white light and letters.

Hooper Strait Lighthouse at Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum, St. Michaels (Talbot County), Maryland, August 2016. Photo by Diane F. Evartt.

Special Aids, yellow buoys with or without yellow lights and letters, alert mariners to nets, cables, jetties, military exercise areas, and other special areas. Mooring buoys are white with a centered blue band, and they may have a white light or reflector.

• Baltimore Light Station [also known as Baltimore Harbor Light] (caisson lighthouse): Baltimore Channel south entrance, Chesapeake Bay, near mouth of Magothy River
  
  First lit in 1908 (one of last lighthouses built in Chesapeake Bay)
  Automated in 1923
  Light converted & powered by atomic generator in 1964 (first lighthouse in world to be nuclear powered)
  Atomic generator removed and replaced by electric generator in 1965
  Sold by U.S. Coast Guard to private owners in 2006
  Currently solar-powered
• Bodkin Island Lighthouse (tower lighthouse): Bodkin Point, south side of mouth of Patapsco River
  First lit in 1822
  Deactivated in 1856; replaced by Seven-Foot Knoll Lighthouse
  Abandoned; tower collapsed in 1914 (island now submerged in Chesapeake Bay, marked as "navigational hazard" on charts)
• Greenbury Point Lighthouse (integral lighthouse): Greenbury Point, north side of mouth of Severn River, entrance to Annapolis Harbor
  
  First lit in 1848
  Deactivated in 1891; replaced by Greenbury Point Shoal Lighthouse
  Collapsed
• Greenbury Point Shoal Lighthouse (screw-pile lighthouse): Greenbury Point, mouth of Severn River
  First lit in 1891; replaced Greenbury Point Lighthouse
  Dismantled in 1934; replaced with skeleton tower on original foundation
  Remnants removed in 2008
• Sandy Point Shoal Lighthouse (integral lighthouse, caisson lighthouse): Sandy Point, Chesapeake Bay, south side of mouth of Magothy River
  
  First lit as shore light in 1858
  Current structure lit in 1883
  Electrified in 1929
  Automated in 1963
  Sold by U.S. Coast Guard to private owners in 2006
  Beacon removed by U.S. Coast Guard in 2019
• Thomas Point Shoal Lighthouse (tower lighthouse, screw-pile lighthouse) (only lighthouse still standing on original site): Thomas Point, Chesapeake Bay, mouth of South River
  
  First lit as shore light in 1825
  Rebuilt in 1840
  Replaced by current structure in 1875
  Electrified in 1933
  Automated in 1986 (last manned lighthouse in Chesapeake Bay)
  Converted to solar power in 1997
  Ownership transferred from U.S. Department of Interior to public-private partnership in 2004
  Opened to public in 2007
  

BALTIMORE CITY

• Brewerton Range Front Light [also known as Hawkins Point Lighthouse] (screw-pile lighthouse): Hawkins Point, Brewerton Channel of Patapsco River, near Curtis Bay
  
  First lit in 1868
  Dismantled in 1924; replaced with skeleton tower on foundation
  Light removed to new solar-powered structure in 2015; remnants dismantled
• Brewerton Range Rear Light [also known as Leading Point Lighthouse] (integral lighthouse): Leading Point, Brewerton Channel of Patapsco River
  First lit in 1868
  Dismantled in 1924; replaced with skeleton tower
  

Fort McHenry Channel Range Front Light (skeleton tower): Fort McHenry National Monument & Historic Shrine, Fort McHenry Channel, Patapsco River

First lit in 1913
Rebuilt in 1934

Fort McHenry Channel Range Rear Light (skeleton tower): Locust Point (site of former location of Baltimore Immigration Station), Fort McHenry Channel, Patapsco River

First lit in 1934
Rebuilt in 1963
Rebuilt in 2011

Fort McHenry Channel Range Front Light (left), Fort McHenry National Monument & Historic Shrine, Baltimore, Maryland, June 2015. Photo by Sarah A. Hanks.

Fort McHenry Channel Range Rear Light (right), Locust Point, Baltimore, Maryland, October 2016. Photo by Sarah A. Hanks.

• Lazaretto Point Lighthouse (tower lighthouse): entrance to Baltimore Harbor, Patapsco River
  First lit in 1831
  Electrified in 1914 (first light powered by electricity in Chesapeake Bay)
  Automated in 1916
  Dismantled in 1926; replaced by steel tower
  Dismantled in 1954
  Replica of original tower built near former site in 1985

Lazaretto Point Lighthouse replica, Baltimore, Maryland, July 2015. Photo by Sarah A. Hanks.

Lightship 116 Chesapeake (LV-116 / WLV-538): Fenwick Island & Delaware Bay; Chesapeake Bay; Cape Cod, MA

Commissioned in 1930 as LV-116

Assigned as Fenwick to Fenwick Island Shoal, DE, from 1930 to 1933

Assigned as Chesapeake to Chesapeake Bay entrance from 1933 to 1942 (designation changed from LV-116 to WLV-538 in 1939)

Converted to armed patrol & inspection vessel; assigned as to Cape Cod, MA, from 1942 to 1945

Assigned as Chesapeake to Cape Henry, Virginia, in 1945

Replaced by Chesapeake Light Tower in 1965

Lightship 116 Chesapeake (Historic Ships in Baltimore), Pier 3, Inner Harbor, Baltimore, Maryland, July 2015. Photo by Sarah A. Hanks.

Assigned as Delaware to Delaware Bay entrance, from 1966-1970
Replaced by light buoy in 1970
Decommissioned in 1971; transferred from U.S. Coast Guard to National Park Service
Used as environmental classroom on Potomac River from 1972 to 1980
Renamed Chesapeake and relocated to Baltimore's Inner Harbor in 1981

• Seven-Foot Knoll Lighthouse (screw-pile lighthouse - oldest example in State): mouth of Patapsco River, Anne Arundel County
  First lit in 1855; replaced Bodkin Island Lighthouse
  Automated in 1948
  Deactivated in 1988; replaced by skeleton tower
  Donated by U.S. Coast Guard to Baltimore in 1988; relocated to Baltimore's Inner Harbor

Seven-Foot Knoll Lighthouse, Inner Harbor, Baltimore, Maryland, June 2015. Photo by Sarah A. Hanks.

• Craighill Channel Lower Range Front Lighthouse (caisson lighthouse - first example in Chesapeake Bay): entrance to Patapsco River, Craighill Channel, Chesapeake Bay, near North Point
  First lit in 1873 with temporary lights; replaced North Point Range Lights
  Two lights installed in 1874
  Electrified in 1929
  Automated in 1964
  Ownership transferred from U.S. Coast Guard to private owners in 2005; later seized by government
  Sold in 2017
• Craighill Channel Lower Range Rear Lighthouse (tower lighthouse) (tallest lighthouse in Maryland): entrance to Craighill Channel, Patapsco River, Chesapeake Bay, near Hart Island
  First lit in 1873 with temporary light; replaced North Point Range Lights
  Light installed in 1875
  Automated in 1923
  Electrified in 1929
• Craighill Channel Upper Range Front Lighthouse [also known as Cut-Off Channel Range Front Light Station] (tower lighthouse): entrance to Patapsco River, Chesapeake Bay
  First lit in 1886; replaced North Point Range West Light
  Automated and electrified in 1929
• Craighill Channel Upper Range Rear Lighthouse [also known as Cut-Off Channel Range Rear Light Station] (tower lighthouse): entrance to Patapsco River, Chesapeake Bay
  First lit in 1886
  Automated and electrified in 1929
• Fort Carroll Lighthouse (skeleton light, tower lighthouse): Patapsco River, turn of Brewerton Channel into Fort McHenry Channel, near Francis Scott Key Bridge
  First lit in 1854
  Light moved to new structure in 1875
  Rebuilt in 1898
  Automated in 1921
  Deactivated by 1945
  Sold in 1958 to private owner
  Abandoned; now a bird sanctuary
• North Point Range East Lighthouse (tower lighthouse): off North Point, north side of Patapsco River
  First lit in 1822
  Deactivated in 1873; replaced in function by Craighill Channel Lower Range Lights
  Abandoned and destroyed
• North Point Range West Lighthouse (tower lighthouse): off North Point, north side of Patapsco River
  First lit in 1822
  Deactivated in 1873; replaced in function by Craighill Channel Lower Range Lights
  Abandoned
  Dismantled in 1885 and foundation used for Craighill Channel Upper Range Front Lighthouse

CALVERT COUNTY

• Cove Point Lighthouse (tower lighthouse) (oldest operating lighthouse in Chesapeake Bay): Chesapeake Bay, north of entrance to Patuxent River
  First lit in 1828
  Electrified in 1928
  Automated in 1986
  Ownership transferred from U. S. Coast Guard to Calvert County in 2000
  Opened by Calvert Marine Museum in Solomons to public in 2002

• Drum Point Lighthouse (screw-pile lighthouse): Drum Point, Patuxent River
  First lit in 1883
  Electrified in 1944
  Automated in 1960
  Deactivated in 1962; replaced by light buoy
  Ownership transferred from U.S. Coast Guard to Calvert County Historical Society
  Relocated to grounds of Calvert Marine Museum in Solomons in 1975 and opened to public

Drum Point Lighthouse, Solomons, Maryland, April 2018. Photo by Diane F. Evartt.

• Turkey Point Lighthouse (part of Elk Neck State Park) (tower lighthouse): Turkey Point, Chesapeake Bay, mouth of Elk & Northeast Rivers
  First lit in 1833
  Electrified in 1942
  Automated in 1947; Fannie Mae Slate, last woman lighthouse keeper in nation, retired
  Deactivated 2000
  Relit in 2002 by TPLS as a "private aid to navigation"
  Ownership transferred from U. S. Coast Guard to Maryland Department of Natural Resources in 2006

CHARLES COUNTY

• Cobb Point Bar Lighthouse [also known as Cobb Island Bar Light] (screw-pile lighthouse): Cobb Island/Point Bar, Potomac River, west side of entrance of Wicomico River
  First lit in 1889
  Damaged by fire in 1939
  Dismantled in 1940; replaced by light on original foundation
• Lower Cedar Point Lighthouse (screw-pile lighthouse): Lower Cedar Point, middle of Potomac River, near Potomac River Bridge (US 301)
  First lit in 1867; replaced lightships (1825-61, 1864)
  Destroyed by fire in 1893
  Rebuilt in 1896
  Deactivated in 1951; replaced with skeleton tower on original foundation
  Dismantled
• Maryland Point Lighthouse (screw-pile lighthouse): Maryland Point, Potomac River
  First lit in 1892
  Automated and electrified in 1954
  Deactivated in 1963; replaced with skeleton tower on original foundation
  Dismantled
• Mathias Point Lighthouse (screw-pile lighthouse): Mathias Point Shoal, Potomac River, opposite mouth of Port Tobacco River
  First lit in 1876
  Automated in 1951
  Deactivated in 1961; replaced with skeleton tower on original foundation
  Dismantled
• Upper Cedar Lighthouse (screw-pile lighthouse): Upper Cedar Point, Potomac River, west of Mathias Point
  First lit in 1867; replaced lightships (1821-67)
  Tended by African-American keepers during 1870s (one of few lighthouses in nation)
  Deactivated in 1876
  Reactivated in 1882
  Automated in 1951
  Deactivated in 1963; replaced with beacon on original foundation
  Dismantled

DORCHESTER COUNTY

• Clay Island Lighthouse (integral lighthouse): Clay Island, Nanticoke River & Fishing Bay
  First lit in 1832
  Deactivated in 1892; replaced by Sharkfin Shoal Light
  Abandoned and collapsed in 1894
• Holland Island Bar Lighthouse (screw-pile lighthouse): Holland Island, Holland Straits, off main channel of Chesapeake Bay
  First lit in 1889
  Damaged by "friendly fire" in 1957
  Deactivated in 1960; replaced with skeleton tower on original foundation
  Dismantled
• Hooper Island Lighthouse (caisson lighthouse): Hooper Island, Chesapeake Bay
  First lit in 1902
  Electrified in 1936
  Automated in 1961
  Solar-powered in 1976
  Ownership transferred from U.S. Coast Guard to U.S. Lighthouse Society in 2009
  Ownership offered by U.S. Lighthouse Society in 2017
• Sharkfin Shoal Lighthouse (screw-pile lighthouse): Entrance to Fishing Bay & Nanticoke River, Chesapeake Bay
  First lit in 1892; replaced Clay Island Light
  Deactivated in 1964; replaced with skeleton tower
  Dismantled

HARFORD COUNTY

Concord Point Lighthouse (northernmost lighthouse in Chesapeake Bay) (tower lighthouse): Concord Point, entrance of Susquehanna River, Chesapeake Bay

First lit in 1827
Automated and electrified in 1920
Deactivated in 1975
Ownership transferred from U.S. Coast Guard to Havre de Grace in 1977
Stewardship undertaken by Friends of Concord Point Lighthouse in 1979
Relit as "private aid to navigation" in 1984 and opened to public

Concord Point Lighthouse, 700 Concord St., Havre de Grace Maryland, June 2015. Photo by Sarah A. Hanks.

• Fishing Battery Lighthouse (integral lighthouse): Fishing Battery Island, near entrance to Susquehanna River
  First lit in 1853
  
  Island leased by U.S. Bureau of Fisheries, 1880-91; lighthouse renovated in 1887
  
  Light moved to nearby skeleton tower in 1921
  
  Automated in 1939
  
  Island transferred to U.S. Department of Interior in 1942, now part of Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge
  
  Abandoned

Concord Point Lighthouse Keeper's House, 700 Concord St., Havre de Grace Maryland, June 2015. Photo by Sarah A. Hanks.

• Pooles Island Lighthouse (oldest surviving lighthouse in Maryland) (tower lighthouse): Pooles Island, Chesapeake Bay
  First lit in 1825
  Bought by U.S. Army in 1917 and made part of Aberdeen Proving Ground
  Automated in 1918
  Island used for bombing practice from 1918 to 1960s (unexploded ordnance still present)
  Deactivated in 1939; transferred to War Department
  Relit by U.S. Army in 2011
  Island now a wildlife sanctuary

PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY

• Fort Washington Lighthouse (part of Fort Washington Park) (tower lighthouse): Potomac River, Swan Creek to north & Piscataway Creek to south
  First lit in 1870; replaced lantern on iron pole from 1857
  Light added in 1901 to converted fog bell tower from 1882; original tower dismantled
  Electrified in 1920
  Automated in 1954
  Ownership transferred from U.S. Coast Guard to National Park Service in 2005
  Deactivated in 2020
  

QUEEN ANNE'S COUNTY

• Bloody Point Bar Lighthouse (caisson lighthouse): Bloody Point, near south end of Kent Island, Chesapeake Bay
  First lit in 1882
  Developed 6° list due to scouring of sand in 1884; sand removed from opposite side of lean, reduced tilt by half
  Structure on seabed secured by stones in 1885
  Damaged by fire in 1960
  Automated in 1961; now solar-powered
  Sold to private owner in 2006
• Love Point Lighthouse (screw-pile lighthouse): Love Point, near northern end of Kent Island, Chesapeake Bay
  First lit in 1872
  Damaged by ice in 1873
  Automated in 1953
  Deactivated in 1964; replaced with automated light on original foundation
  Dismantled

ST. MARY'S COUNTY

• Blackistone (Blakistone) Island Lighthouse (part of St. Clement’s Island State Park) (integral lighthouse): Saint Clement’s Island, off Colton’s Point, Potomac River
  First lit in 1851
  Raided by Confederates under former island owner Capt. John Goldsmith in 1864
  Bought by U.S. Navy in 1919
  Automated and decommissioned in 1932
  Destroyed by fire in 1956 and razed
  U.S. Navy leased island to Maryland in 1962
  Island's original name of St. Clement's restored in 1965
  Replica completed in 2008
• Cedar Point Lighthouse (integral lighthouse): Cedar Point, southern side of mouth of Patuxent River
  First lit in 1896
  Erosion and sand dredging shrank land surrounding lighthouse; peninsula eventually became small island
  Deactivated in 1928 and sold to Arundel Corporation; automated beacon installed
  Lighted buoy installed in mid-1950s; bell tower with beacon collapsed in 1957
  Acquired by U.S. Navy in 1958
  Lighthouse cupola removed in 1981
  Dismantled in 1996; gables and bricks taken to Calvert Marine Museum for use in pavilion construction
• Piney Point Lighthouse (tower lighthouse): Piney Point, Potomac River, near mouth of Chesapeake Bay
  First lit in 1836; replaced lightships (1821-36)
  Automated in 1939
  Point acquired by U.S. Navy in 1941
  Naval Torpedo Test Center & Range operated on Point from 1941-45
  German submarine, U-1105 (Black Panther), sunk by U.S. Navy off Point in 1949
  Deactivated in 1964
  Ownership transferred from U.S. Coast Guard to St. Mary’s County Department of Parks and Recreation in 1980
  Opened to public in 2002
• Point Lookout Lighthouse (part of Point Lookout State Park) (integral lighthouse): Point Lookout, northern mouth of Potomac River, western shore of Chesapeake Bay
  First lit in 1830
  Hammond General Hospital for wounded Union soldiers erected on land near lighthouse in 1862
  Prisoner-of-war camp for Confederates established near lighthouse in 1863
  Expanded and raised in 1883
  Remodeled in 1927
  Electrified in 1930
  Land near lighthouse bought by U.S. Navy in 1951
  Land around lighthouse bought by Maryland in 1964
  Light moved to offshore steel tower in 1965
  Deactivated in 1966; ownership transferred from U.S. Coast Guard to to U.S. Navy
  Ownership transferred to Maryland Park Service in 2006; Point Lookout Lighthouse Preservation Society formed to restore lighthouse
  Opened to public for special events
• Point No Point Lighthouse (caisson lighthouse): western side of Chesapeake Bay, north of mouth of Potomac River
  First lit in 1905
  Automated in 1938
  Converted to unmanned operations in 1962
• Ragged Point Lighthouse (last lighthouse built in Maryland) (screw-pile lighthouse): Ragged Point, west side of Potomac River
  First lit in 1910
  Automated in 1951
  Strafed by U.S. Navy pilots on training mission in early 1960s
  Deactivated in 1962; replaced with skeleton tower on original foundation
  Dismantled

SOMERSET COUNTY

• Fog Point Lighthouse (integral lighthouse): Fog Point, northwestern tip of Smith Island, marks passage north through Kedges Strait
  First lit in 1827
  Deactivated in 1875; replaced by Solomons Lump Lighthouse
  Abandoned and destroyed
• Janes Island Lighthouse (screw-pile lighthouse): Janes Island, mouth of Little Annemessex River
  First lit in 1867; replaced lightships (1853-67)
  Destroyed by ice in 1879; replacement built
  Destroyed by ice in 1935
  Replaced with skeleton tower in 1936
  
• Solomons Lump Lighthouse (screw-pile lighthouse, caisson lighthouse): Solomons Lump, southern end of Smith Island, Kedges Straits
  First lit in 1875; replaced Fog Point Light
  Destroyed by ice in 1893
  Current structure lit in 1895
  Automated in 1950
• Somers Cove Lighthouse (screw-pile lighthouse): Somers Cove, entrance to Little Annemessex River
  First lit in 1867
  Automated in 1928
  Deactivated in 1932; replaced with skeleton tower on original foundation
  Dismantled

TALBOT COUNTY

• Choptank River Lighthouse (screw-pile lighthouse): Bernoni Point, Choptank River, entrance to Tred Avon River & Island Creek
  First lighthouse lit in 1871; replaced lightship (1870-71)
  Destroyed by ice in 1918
  Replacement structure (formerly Cherrystone Bar Light) lit in 1921
  Deactivated in 1964; replaced with skeleton tower
  Dismantled
  Replica built in Cambridge in 2012

Hooper Strait Lighthouse (screw-pile lighthouse): Hooper Strait, northern entrance to Tangier Sound, between Bloodsworth & Hooper Islands, Chesapeake Bay

First lit in 1867; replaced lightship (1827-67)
Destroyed by ice in 1877
Replacement structure lit in 1879
Automated in 1954
Deactivated in 1966; replaced by skeleton tower; relocated to Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum in St. Michaels
Opened to public in 1967

Hooper Strait Lighthouse at Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum, St. Michaels (Talbot County), Maryland, August 2016. Photo by Diane F. Evartt.

• Sharps Island Lighthouse (integrated lighthouse, screw-pile lighthouse, caisson lighthouse): Sharps Island, southern end of Tilghman Island, Chesapeake Bay
  First lit as movable shore light in 1838
  Replacement lit in 1866
  Destroyed by ice in 1881
  Current structure lit in 1882
  Automated in 1938
  Damaged by ice in 1977; currently listing between 15° & 20°
  Sold by U.S. Coast Guard to private owner in 2008
  Deactivated in 2010 (island now submerged in Chesapeake Bay, marked as "Sharps Island Obstruction" on charts)

WICOMICO COUNTY

• Great Shoals Lighthouse (screw-pile lighthouse): Great Shoals, mouth of Wicomico River, Chesapeake Bay
  First lit in 1884
  Deactivated in 1966; replaced with skeleton tower on original foundation
  Dismantled

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