Point Lookout Lighthouse

At a glance

• Where: Point Lookout State Park, at the southern tip of St. Mary’s County, Maryland, where the Potomac River meets Chesapeake Bay
• Built: 1830 by John Donahoo; raised to two full stories in 1883; made a duplex in 1927
• Claim to fame: the oldest standing “integral” lighthouse in the U.S., meaning the keeper’s home and light are one building, according to Maryland DNR
• Light turned off: January 11, 1966
• Visiting: open in summer as a free self-guided museum (park fee applies)

History

The Point Lookout Lighthouse sits on a peninsula that marks the entrance to the Potomac River in Chesapeake Bay, Maryland. Before the Civil War the area was a pleasant vacation spot. It was originally part of St. Michael’s Manor, owned by Leonard Calvert, Maryland’s first governor. The point had been used as a summer resort, complete with beach cottages and a wharf, and the lighthouse only added to the charm.

In 1825, the federal government decided a light was needed at Point Lookout to warn ships of the shoals and to mark the entrance to the Potomac. Buying the land turned into a long argument with the owner, and the contract finally went to John Donahoo in 1830. He was the same builder behind many of Maryland’s early lighthouses.

The lighthouse was first lit on September 20, 1830, as a story-and-a-half house with the lantern on the roof. Its first keeper, James Davis, died only a few months after taking the job, and his daughter Ann Davis kept the light until 1847. That matters for the ghost story below. In 1883 the house was raised to two full stories, which lifted the light to about 41 feet above sea level. A fog bell tower was added in 1873. In 1927 the house was enlarged into a duplex so that a keeper and an assistant could each have their own side. William Yeatman was the longest-serving keeper, from 1871 until his death in 1908.

The Civil War completely changed the point. Hammond General Hospital was built in 1862 to care for wounded Union soldiers. The next year the Union began holding Confederate prisoners there, and Camp Hoffman grew up beside the hospital. It became the Union’s largest prison camp for Confederates, holding as many as 20,000 men at one point. It was filthy and badly overcrowded, and disease spread quickly.

More than 3,000 prisoners died at the camp from disease, starvation or exposure (some estimates run closer to 4,000). They were buried on or near the point. In later years, when erosion threatened the graves, the remains were moved to the Point Lookout Confederate Cemetery just north of the park.

The Coast Guard took over the light in 1939, along with every other U.S. lighthouse. The Navy began buying up land around it in 1951, and on January 11, 1966, the light was turned off and the buildings were handed to the Navy. People went on living in the house until 1981. In 2002 the Navy restored the outside of the lighthouse, painting it in its 1927 colors. Maryland got the lighthouse in a 2006 land swap, and the Point Lookout Lighthouse Preservation Society was founded that year to help restore it.

When this post was first written, the lighthouse was fenced off and opened only for occasional open houses and paranormal evenings. That has changed. The Maryland Department of Natural Resources spent years restoring the building, including the coal and buoy sheds, which most stations lost after automation. It opened for regular public visits in May 2025 (see Visiting today below).

The ghost stories (legend)

The trauma and death of the prison camp may help explain the many strange things that keepers, park staff and visitors have reported over the years. They’re why Point Lookout is so often called “America’s most haunted lighthouse.”

Reports of strange happenings started in the years after the war. People describe footsteps, snoring, foul smells, lights going on and off, and disembodied voices talking, laughing, singing happy tunes and even calling for help. One woman said she woke in the night to someone calling her name, but no one was there. Paranormal investigators say they have recorded some of these sounds over the years.

There have also been many reports of apparitions. The best known is said to be Ann Davis, the keeper who took over after her father died in 1830. She’s described standing at the top of the stairs in a long navy-blue skirt and a white blouse, her everyday clothes.

There are also reports of see-through figures, possibly in Civil War uniforms, moving around the basement and wandering the grounds outside. In the story, they’re searching for graves that were moved more than a century ago.

Investigations have gone on at Point Lookout for decades. Investigators say their audio recordings captured 24 distinct voices from different parts of the lighthouse, both men and women, speaking and singing. One voice, said to be a Union prison guard, is heard saying “fire if they get too close to you.” Another, said to be Ann Davis, says “my house.” We couldn’t trace these recordings to a named investigator or a published recording, so treat them as investigators’ claims.

How strong is the lore? Strong, for a haunted lighthouse. The prison camp deaths are thoroughly documented, Ann Davis was a real keeper, and the reports go back decades. The specific recordings are harder to pin down. The Preservation Society’s paranormal nights have now ended, so you won’t be able to join an investigation.

Visiting today (checked November 2026)

Point Lookout Lighthouse is inside Point Lookout State Park, 11175 Point Lookout Road, Scotland, MD 20687, at the southern tip of the park. After its renovation, Maryland DNR opened it to the public in May 2025 as a small self-guided museum with exhibits on keepers’ lives.

• Season and hours: The Point Lookout Lighthouse Preservation Society (pllps.org) and the park say the lighthouse is open Memorial Day to Labor Day, Thursday through Monday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., depending on staffing. After Labor Day it opens only as staffing allows. The 2026 summer season has ended, so call the park at 301-872-5688 before you go.
• Park hours: 8 a.m. to sunset from October through April, and 7 a.m. to sunset from May through September.
• Reservations: Summer weekends and holidays (Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend) need a day-use reservation at parkdayuse.maryland.gov.
• Cost: The lighthouse is free. You pay the state park entrance fee.
• Ghost events: The Society says its Paranormal Nights program has ended and its October “Spirits of Point Lookout” ghost walks are no longer held. No one is allowed into the lighthouse outside regular public hours, and trespassers are prosecuted.
• Climbing: This is a house-style lighthouse with the lantern on the roof, so there’s no tall tower to climb. The coal and buoy sheds stay closed for safety.

FAQ

Why is Point Lookout called the most haunted lighthouse?

Thousands of Confederate prisoners died at the nearby Civil War camp, and keepers and visitors have reported voices, footsteps and apparitions for well over a century.

Can you visit Point Lookout Lighthouse?

Yes, in summer. Since May 2025 Maryland DNR has opened the restored lighthouse Thursday to Monday from Memorial Day to Labor Day, depending on staffing. Admission is free with the park entrance fee; call 301-872-5688 to confirm.

Can you do a ghost hunt at Point Lookout Lighthouse?

Not anymore. The Preservation Society has ended its Paranormal Nights, and after-hours access isn’t allowed.

Who is the ghost at the top of the stairs?

The story says it’s Ann Davis, who kept the light from 1830 to 1847 after her father died, in a long blue skirt and white blouse.

More haunted lighthouses

Read about St. Augustine Lighthouse, Pensacola Lighthouse and our haunted lighthouse visit guide.

Sources

• Maryland DNR, May 7, 2025: “Point Lookout Lighthouse to Open to the Public Following Renovations”: restoration, 2025 opening, history
• Maryland DNR: Point Lookout State Park: park hours, day-use reservations, 1830/1883/1927 history, integral lighthouse, Keeper Yeatman
• Point Lookout Lighthouse Preservation Society: Visit: hours and fees
• PLLPS home page: end of Paranormal Nights and ghost walks
• PLLPS: Directions: address
• Wikipedia: Point Lookout Light: James and Ann Davis, Camp Hoffman, 1966 deactivation, residents until 1981

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