Scotland in St. Mary's County, Maryland — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
The Wharf
The pilings in front of you are all that remain of Point Lookout's 250-foot-long wharf. Lighthouse tender ships (or "tenders") laden with supplies, coal and buoys needing repairs docked here. Workers used a crane to hoist cargo onto the wharf's railway carts and pushed the heavy loads along tracks in the ground into the coal or buoy shed.
End of the Line
Lighthouse tenders like the Holly and the Mistletoe regularly used the wharf at Point Lookout. Early on, passenger ships and tugboats were allowed to use the structure too, but maintenance costs caused the Lighthouse Board and Service to stop all public use by the 1900s. The wharf was demolished in 1962.
[Caption:]
Wharf rebuilding plan, 1914
Facing strong currents and winds, the wharf constantly needed repair. The U.S. Lighthouse Service rebuilt the wharf multiple times. This plan for rebuilding the wharf shows an attempt to improve its stability. Braced pilings were driven 15 feet into the river bottom.
Erected by Maryland Park Service; Maryland Department of Natural Resources.
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Communications • Industry & Commerce
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Location. 38° 2.327′ N, 76° 19.345′ W. Marker is in Scotland, Maryland, in St. Mary's County. It is on Point Lookout Road (Maryland Route 5) 2.3 miles south of 3rd Way, on the right when traveling east. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 10350 Point Lookout Rd, Scotland MD 20687, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Southern Maryland. It is also in the American South, specifically in the Upper South, in the Mid-Atlantic, in the Tidewater, and in the Chesapeake Bay Region. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region, North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once one of the original Thirteen Colonies and also the Antebellum South.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: The Buoy & Coal Sheds (a few steps from this marker); Light's On at Point Lookout (a few steps from this marker); Point Lookout Radio Room (within shouting distance of this marker); From Buoys to Barracks (within shouting distance of this marker); The Bay Is a Sunken River (within shouting distance of this marker); The Wooden Spar Buoy (within shouting distance of this marker); New Buoy Technology (within shouting distance of this marker); Rough Treatment (within shouting distance of this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Scotland.
Credits. This page was last revised on April 14, 2026. It was originally submitted on April 14, 2026, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. This page has been viewed 10 times since then. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on April 14, 2026, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia.
