Piney Point Lighthouse

Piney Point Lighthouse (HM5PV)

Location: Piney Point, MD 20674 St Mary's County
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Country: United States of America
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N 38° 8.154', W 76° 31.748'

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Inscription
On Christmas Eve 1835, the Federal Government purchased 2.5 acres of land from William and Charlotte Suter for $300. A year later the first lighthouse constructed entirely on the shoreline of the Potomac River went into service at Piney Point.

Initially Piney Point had a fixed white light of 10 lamps and 10 reflectors, visible for 11 miles. In June 1855 a fifth order Fresnel lens was added, changing the light color from white to yellow and increasing visibility for mariners. The lighthouse was automated with electricity in the 1950's.

Because fog frequently obscured the treacherous shoreline of Piney Point, a bell tower was added in 1880. Replaced by a reed horn in 1936, the bell tower was severely damaged by Hurricane Hazel in 1954 and was later dismantled.

Caption of photo on upper right side of marker
The Piney Point Lighthouse bell tower with reed horn.

Caption of photo on lower right side of marker
Piney Point Lighthouse and keeper's quarters 2005
Details
HM NumberHM5PV
Tags
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Placed ByMaryland Department of Natural Resources
Marker ConditionNo reports yet
Date Added Wednesday, September 24th, 2014 at 4:44pm PDT -07:00
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Locationbig map
UTM (WGS84 Datum)18S E 365990 N 4221998
Decimal Degrees38.13590000, -76.52913333
Degrees and Decimal MinutesN 38° 8.154', W 76° 31.748'
Degrees, Minutes and Seconds38° 8' 9.24" N, 76° 31' 44.88" W
Driving DirectionsGoogle Maps
Area Code(s)301
Closest Postal AddressAt or near 44701-45243 State Hwy 498, Piney Point MD 20674, US
Alternative Maps Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap

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