Photo by Ferrell McCollough
BUILT IN 1828, Cove Point Lighthouse is the oldest continuously operating lighthouse on the Chesapeake Bay. It sits on a 7-acre point of land in Calvert County, Maryland, on one of the narrowest parts of the Chesapeake—from the observation deck, visitors can see the Calvert Cliffs (well-known for their shark teeth fossils) and across the bay to the Eastern Shore. The keeper’s home was enlarged in 1925, making it a duplex that could house two keepers and their families. The 40-foot-high light tower and the adjacent keepers’ cottage were restored in 2012, and visitors can now rent either one side or both sides of the cottage (each side sleeps eight) year-round. The lighthouse and cottage are steps from a private beach, where fossils from the Calvert Cliffs often wash ashore. “You see lots of freighters coming up and down the bay,” says Vanessa Gill, director of development at the Calvert Marine Museum, which manages the property. “Fishermen are there in the morning, crabbing and fishing right out front.” Proceeds benefit the Calvert Marine Museum in Solomons, Maryland, and an endowment for the lighthouse’s continued care. For more information, call 410-326-2042.
