Formal efforts to put a lighthouse at the Northern entrance to the Potomac River go back to 1825. However, the owner of the property protested the government's valuation. Finally, after several years of litigation, the Fifth Auditor simply went ahead and erected the station while the land purchase was still under litigation. The design consisted of a small building, built by John Donahoo, with a red shingle roof and black lantern on top. It was commissioned in September of 1830. The lamp itself underwent several upgrades over the years. In 1883 a second story was added to the building, the station then being run by two families. The land next to it was used as a depot for a while. In 1965 the light was replaced by an offshore steel tower and retired from service. It is currently owned by the U.S. Navy. After its retirement, many ghost stories arose. (The neighboring park land was a notoriously harsh and squalid prisoner of war camp during the Civil War.)

 

U.S. Coast Guard Historian's page - Point Lookout Light