Point Lookout has witnessed much of the nation’s history. Native Americans first came to this shore five thousand years ago, drawn by its natural bounty. The earliest inhabitants were hunters and gatherers, and later the Conoy Piscataway tribe farmed the land, growing tobacco and corn while harvesting oysters, clams, crabs, and fish from the Chesapeake Bay. Pottery shards found on the beaches show Native American use of this site stretching back many thousands of years. Spanish sailors were the first Europeans to sight the point in the 1500’s, and in 1608 Captain John Smith, one of the founders of Jamestown, explored the peninsula. In the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812, Americans kept watch here for British ships, and during the Civil War the point was a Union stronghold. In times of peace, hotels and resorts drew steamer boats carrying pleasure-seekers from Washington and Baltimore. Today, the State of Maryland protects the prehistoric, historic, and natural treasures of Point Lookout.