Piney Point Maryland
Harbour Lights #339

In March 1835, the United States Congress approved an appropriation of $5,000 for the construction of a lighthouse about 14 miles up the Potomac River from Point Lookout Lighthouse. In 1836, John Donahoo was selected to build the lighthouse. Donahoo had earned a reputation as a master lighthouse builder for his work on Concord Point and Cove Point among others. The cost breakdown: $3,488 for construction, $400 for the lantern and the remainder for the purchase of land and lighting apparatus.

Piney Point was nicknamed The Lighthouse of Presidents; several U. S. Presidents, including James Monroe, Franklin Pierce and Theodore Roosevelt, often used the colonial-style light as their summer residence to escape the heat of the Capital.

Some of the sandstone used to build the 35-foot tall (base to coping) light was from the same Virginia quarry that supplied stone for the U.S. Capitol and the White House.

Piney Point’s history from 1836 until its decommissioning in 1964 is distinguished. The lighthouse served river navigators through the Civil War, the steamboat era and both World Wars.

During World War II, the Navy used the Piney Point area to test torpedoes. At the end of the war, the U.S. received a surrendered German submarine (U-1105), which was covered in rubber to avoid detection from sonar. In 1949, after a few years of testing and examination, the submarine was used to test a new type of depth charge and was intentionally sunk off the Point. It was rediscovered a few years ago at the bottom of the Potomac in about 70 feet of water about one mile west of the lighthouse.

When Piney Point Lighthouse was decommissioned in 1964, it was replaced by a lighted buoy. However for the next 15 years, the United States Coast Guard continued to use the buildings for staff housing.

In 1980, the lighthouse and associated buildings were transferred to the St. Mary’s County Department of Parks and Recreation and are now under the management of the St. Clement’s Island Potomac River Museum. The magnificently restored former residence of the Chief Petty Officer now houses exhibits on the lighthouse and the area’s rich submarine history as well as a small gift shop. The keeper’s cottage is a private residence for security and groundskeeper personnel.