Before the Conowingo Dam was built in 1928, this area flooded every spring when melting snow raised the water, and light keepers traveled by boat from the house to the lighthouse to light the lamps. Raised wooden walkways were constructed between 1884 and 1890 to reach the outbuildings, including a privy on the west side of the property. The first privy, built in 1827, was to be of stone or brick, five feet by five feet in the clear, with a well at least eight feet deep walled with stone or brick and a well-shingled roof. After the Conowingo Dam was constructed, flooding occurred only during extreme storms.