Named for the loblolly and long leaf yellow pines along the shoreline, Piney Point became the social center of Washington D.C. between 1820 and 1910. President James Monroe vacationed here in 1820 in a cottage that became known as the “Summer White House.” Franklin Pierce and Theodore Roosevelt often came to escape Washington’s summers. Daniel Webster, John C. Calhoun, and Henry Clay fished and bathed near the lighthouse while staying at the local hotel. Warren Tolson, the last owner and proprietor of the Piney Point (Tolson’s) Hotel, purchased the 25 room hotel and 27 cottages in the early years of the 20th century, and the hurricane of 1933 severely damaged the hotel, eventually forcing it to close.
