Point Lookout, Maryland
America's Most Haunted Lighthouse?
Point Lookout located at the mouth of the Potomac River where it enters the Chesapeake Bay. It has a long history that dates back to 1612 when Captain John Smith first explored the area for England. The point marks the northern entrance to the Potomac River from the Chesapeake Bay. There have been mishaps and strange happenings dating back to the earliest settlers battles with the Virginia Indians, and Lord Baltimore's nephew drowning in nearby Calvert Bay in the mid-1600's.
Here are a few of the most notable happenings in and around Point Lookout.
The Civil War and Camp Hoffman
In 1862 during the American Civil War, Point Lookout was the site of a now infamous Union POW camp, Camp Hoffman (later Fort Lincoln) built to house Confederate soldiers captured on the battlefield. The site was originally used as a hospital for the Union soldiers. The location was chosen due to it's proximity to the major battlefields (Gettysburg), it's ease of access by water, and location on the mouth of the Potomac. Inside the earthen fort, wooden walls housed men who were given tents as their only shelter. During its active years (1863 to 1865), over 50,000 soldiers were detained here, although not all at once. The camp was designed to hold 10,000 men, but after the Union stopped a prisoner exchange in late 1863, it's population grew to almost 20,000. Although nearly 4,000 people died, the death rate was less than half of that of soldiers in the field. In 1864, Confederate General Bradley Johnson planned a raid on the camp to free the captive soldiers. He was going to raid the prison, arm the soldiers, and advance on Washington in support of General Jubal Early's push on the Union Capital. The plan was called off when it was discovered that the plot was uncovered by Union spies and forwarded to commanders. If this wasn't enough hardship for the soldiers, those who died had their bodies were as many as three times, mostly due to shoreline erosion. The Confederate soldiers who's bodies could be found, were moved to the Confederate Cemetery at the entrance to the park, where there are 2 monuments, 1 federal and one state, to the soldiers.
The Lighthouse
Due to the many shipwrecks in the area, a lighthouse on Point Lookout was deemed necessary by the government in 1825. The owner of the property, Jenifer Taylor, rejected the governments initial offer of $500 for the land, although it is rumored he would accept the price if he was the first keeper. Eventually a commission set the value of the land at $1150 and the plans for the lighthouse started to take shape. In 1828, Congress $4500 for the light, and in 1830 the contract was awarded to John Donahoo of Harve de Grace, Maryland for $3,050. The original light was a single story house, much smaller than the current building. In 1854, 24 years after being first lit, the lens was upgraded to a 4th order Fresnel lens. 1873 brought the construction of a fog bell tower, and in 1882 a second story was added to the structure. This wouldn't be the last time it was enlarged, it was also expanded to it's current size in 1927. The large buoy depot was added on the site in 1883. Also on the side of the buoy depot is a coal shed.
Point Lookout lighthouse has always been served by civilians, even after it was transferred to the Coast Guard in 1939. The Navy bought up the property around the light, and in 1965 the light was deactivated and turned over to the Navy.
Shipwrecks, Fires, Storms
USS Tulip
The Civil War era brought another disaster not directly related to the conflict. In July of 1864, the 93 foot Union gunboat, USS Tulip, exploded and sank between Ragged Point and Point Lookout due to a boiler explosion. The explosion was so loud, that prisoners and guards at the Point Lookout prison camp, nearly 12 miles away, heard the blast. The ship was a shallow draft screw steamer, originally designed as a lighthouse tender named Chih Kiang. In 1893, the U.S. Navy purchased the tender for $30,000 and armed it with two 24 pound cannons and one 20 pound Parrott gun. The ship was renamed the USS Tulip and was served with the Potomac Flotilla. After leaving it's base in St. Indigoes Creek, the Tulip headed for the Washington Navy Yard for repairs. Against all orders, Tulip's Commander, Captain William H. Smith, gave orders build up steam on the faulty the boiler after leaving port, according to the surviving crew. Research indicates that it's boilers were never designed to handle the salty waters of the Chesapeake and Potomac. Of the 57 men aboard, 47 died, 10 survived, and of the 10 survivors, 2 later died of their injuries. 8 unidentifiable bodies washed up on the shores of Point Lookout.
The Steamer Express
1878 brought a large hurricane, named then the Gale of '78. The Express was a 200 foot cargo/passenger transport that was built in 1841. The Express saw action in the Civil War as an express boat, and after the war resumed it's original job almost immediately. The rain and winds started on the 23rd of October. The steamer Express was off of Ragged Point, Virginia, slightly up the Potomac from Point Lookout, when the most severe part of the storm was in the area. By 2:00am large waves broke over the upper decks of the ship. Many other ships foundered in the storm, including the steamer Shirley, which was driven ashore on Barren Island, northeast of the Potomac. Winds reached upwards to hurricane strength by 4:00am the and the winds pushed the steamer out into the middle of the Chesapeake Bay. The ships steam engines were of little use due to the rolling of the boat in the waves. By 5:00am the winds had shifted to the southwest, and large waves ripped the saloon deck away from the ship. The damaged steamer finally rolled over on it's side near Point No Point, just north of Point Lookout. Of the 31 people on board, 16 were lost and 15 lived.
The Fenwick Inn
Even with all of the events at Point Lookout, the point became a popular vacation spot during the last quarter of the 1800's. There was a ritzy resort, called the Fenwick Inn, along with plans to run a railroad to the point. The hotel and it's more than 100 cottages burnt to the ground in 1878, the same year the steamer Express was lost off of the point. You can see a large metal wheel (bell tower if I recall from the signs?) on your way in to see the lighthouse.
Paranormal
The Point Lookout Lighthouse and surrounding park has always been a hotbed of ghostly activity, which is understandable considering what's happened here. More than one show has even filmed on location about the hauntings. A few people have been asked by a woman in 1800's clothing to help her find a grave of a loved one. Some have noted a Union soldier guarding the steps to the light, thinking there was a reenactment going on. Yet others have seen a Confederate soldier sitting in the back seat of their car, disappearing when they passed the Confederate cemetery near the entrance to the park. Strange things have appeared inside the lighthouse as well. Glowing walls, strange smells, and weird noises have all been experienced by multiple people that have lived in the lighthouse after it's deactivation. During ghost investigations, many voices have been recorded, most notably "GET OUT" screamed by one angry male voice. One park ranger that lived in the lighthouse opened his door to a man outside during a severe storm. After he opened the door, the man floated inside then disappeared. The rangers description of the image he saw matched with a newspaper article at the time of a body of a crewman of the steamer Express, mentioned earlier. The crewman identified as Joseph (sometimes listed as James) Heaney, Second Mate on the Express, was buried on the beach near where he washed up on shore.
If you're not from the area, Point Lookout isn't what comes to mind when you think lighthouses. Most people think of romantic images of seaside lighthouses found along the coast, not ghostly images staring through the glass at you, reliving what happened to them every time there is a violent storm. The place has an interesting history, and is both beautiful and ominous to see.
If you're in town, or even if you aren't, Point Lookout State Park may be a different sort of trip for you. It's personally my favorite state park, and if you're into history and spirits, it may become yours too. I've been in the winter time when I've been the only one in the park, and you definitely feel different things more in other parts of the site than others.
In 2006 the light was turned over to the Maryland DNR in a land swap deal.
The light is part of Point Lookout state park, which has camping, picnic, fishing, and reconstructed parts of the POW camp and Fort that was once here.
*Update 10/18/08: I was reading through some information for the St. Clement's article and came across the passenger list for the Ark and the Dove, and one of the passengers, Thomas Allen, is listed only as "Shot on the sands of Point Lookout", and "Killed at Point Lookout". So it seems that the unfortunate events started here very early.*
The Maryland Department of Natural Resources page on the park is located here
http://www.dnr.state.md.us/publiclands/southern/pointlookout.html
http://www.east85.com/
