Point Lookout Light marks the southern tip of Maryland’s western shore, where the Potomac River meets the Chesapeake Bay, warning ships away from shoals and marking the river entrance. Authorized in 1825 and first illuminated in 1830, it evolved repeatedly with a Fresnel lens, fog bell tower, expanded living quarters, and a 1927 conversion into a duplex for a keeper and assistant. The site is also linked to the Civil War hospital and prison camp at Point Lookout, where thousands of Confederate prisoners died in harsh conditions. After deactivation in 1966, the lighthouse was restored and reopened in 2025 as a summer museum.