Upper Cedar Point Light

Upper Cedar Point Light was a screw-pile lighthouse in Maryland’s Potomac River, first lit in 1867 at a site already marked by a lightvessel since 1821. Built for the soft river bottom, it was discontinued in 1876 after Mathias Point Light went into service, but persistent complaints led to its restoration in 1882. The station remained active for most of the years afterward. Its history includes Thomas Edwin Speake as keeper and, in the 1870s, the rare service of a Black keeper and assistant keeper. The historic structure stayed in use until 1963, when it was dismantled and replaced by an automatic tower on the original foundation.

Maryland · United States