Drum Point Light

Drum Point Light is a hexagonal white cottage that rests on metal screw-pilings with a rust-red painted roof, standing within the Calvert Marine Museum grounds. The interior is arranged to show how keepers lived and worked during the early 1900s, complete with period furnishings and equipment.

Construction began in 1883 to serve as a navigation aid near the Patuxent River entrance in Chesapeake Bay. The station operated continuously for decades until changing technology and harbor conditions led to its eventual relocation to the museum grounds in the 1970s.

The name comes from the drum-like shape created by its unique screw-pile design, which visitors can see right away. How it sits on these iron pilings rather than solid ground makes it stand out from typical lighthouse structures in the region.

Access to the structure comes through regular museum admission, and comfortable footwear is important as the interior has narrow stairs and tight spaces. Visiting takes about an hour to tour the rooms and see the displays that show how keepers managed their daily tasks.

Only two other screw-pile cottage lighthouses from this bay still exist today, making this one of the rarest surviving examples. Its preservation here allows people to actually step inside and experience what life was like for keepers working far from shore on these offshore structures.