Wayfarrow

Cove Point Light

Lighthouse · Calvert County, Maryland

Cove Point Lighthouse, keeper's residence and fog signal house, Cove Point, Maryland, USA
Cove Point Lighthouse, keeper's residence and fog signal house, Cove Point, Maryland, USA · Acroterion / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0

Cove Point Light is a lighthouse in Calvert County, Maryland. Maryland has 50 lighthouses on record at Wayfarrow, 2 of them in Calvert County.

It was built in 1828, in the first half of the 19th century, making it the 3rd oldest of the 27 in Maryland with a recorded construction date; its light sits 46 feet above the water; the light characteristic is recorded as Fl W 10s (a white flash every 10 seconds), with a range of about 12 nautical miles; it guards Chesapeake Bay.

Status check, 2026-11: Brick tower built in 1828 by John Donahoo, the oldest continuously operating light on the Chesapeake Bay; height left null because sources disagree (originally 38 ft and reportedly raised to 51 ft around 1912, but the USCG still lists 38 ft and Wikipedia 52 ft). Cove Point Light is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It stands at 38.3862° N, 76.3817° W.

Key facts

Current structure built1828
Focal height46 ft
Light characteristicFl W 10s
Range12 nautical miles
Body of waterChesapeake Bay
Heritage designationNational Register of Historic Places listed place
National RegisterListed
Coordinates38.38625, -76.38175

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Nearby places

Questions

Where is Cove Point Light?

Cove Point Light is in Calvert County, Maryland, at 38.3862, -76.3817.

How many lighthouses are in Calvert County?

Calvert County, Maryland has 2 lighthouses on record at Wayfarrow.

Sources and licences

Facts marked "approximately" carry an uncertain date in the source. Text on this page is generated from the sources above; no encyclopedia prose is copied. Last updated 2026-11-05.