Cedar Point Lighthouse Cupola (1896)

Erected in 1896, the Cedar Point Lighthouse marked the southern point where the Patuxent River and Chesapeake Bay come together. It was a three-story brick and frame structure with its cupola mounted 50 feet above the water's surface, and the cupola contained a specially designed Fresnel optical lens that focused a powerful light beam visible for as far as seven miles. The lighthouse stood as an important St. Mary's County landmark for both watercraft and aircraft until it was abandoned by the US Coast Guard in 1928. The US Navy purchased it in 1958, but without funds to maintain the structure it rapidly fell into ruin, and its battered remains were eventually disposed of in 1996. After Hurricane David severely damaged the lighthouse in 1979, the Friends of Cedar Point Lighthouse began an effort to preserve the cupola. It was removed in December 1981 and brought ashore, erected in June 1983 at the previous site of PRNAM on NAS Patuxent River, dedicated 24 May 1985, placed in temporary storage when the museum moved in 2001, and returned to PRNAM on 10 August 2005.

California, Maryland · United States