St. Michaels in Talbot County, Maryland — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
How the Screwpile Lighthouse Got Its Name
Photographed by Devry Becker Jones (CC0), October 5, 2025
1. How the Screwpile Lighthouse Got Its Name Marker
A screw like this one was at the bottom of each of the seven pilings (legs) of this lighthouse—allowing the leg to be screwed down into the soft Bay bottom. It would have been much easier to simply drive the leg straight down into the mud, but screwing it in diagonally gave the lighthouse a more staple foundation.
The screws also helped keep the lighthouse secure in the winter, when ice froze around the pilings. When the tide rose beneath the ice, it tried to lift the pilings with it, but the screws were designed to hold them fast.
Screwpile lighthouses were a great innovation—they could be built out in the middle of the Bay, and could be seen by boats far from the shore. But winter ice remained their greatest enemy. Even beneath a frozen Bay, the tides rise and fall, lifting and lowering the ice above them. Over a long winter this continuous action can place enormous pressures on a lighthouse’s slender legs. In all thirteen screwpile lighthouses were destroyed by ice and nearly every screwpile lighthouse suffered damage. Only four remain today. Of those, only one is in its original location, the other three—including this one—have been moved to land to preserve them.
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Waterways & Vessels.
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Location. 38° 47.25′ N, 76° 13.152′ W. Marker is in St. Michaels, Maryland, in Talbot County. It is on Mill Street. This marker is on the grounds of the Chesapeake Maritime Museum. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Saint Michaels MD 21663, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is on the Eastern Shore. It is also in the American Mid-Atlantic, on the Delmarva Peninsula, 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: Iconic Chesapeake Light (a few steps from this marker); 1879 Hooper Strait Lighthouse (a few steps from this marker); Hooper Strait Lighthouse Boat (a few steps from this marker); a different marker also named Point Lookout Fog Bell Tower (within shouting distance of this marker); Dorothy Lee (within shouting distance of this marker); Delaware (within shouting distance of this marker); Thor, Pilothouse (within shouting distance of this marker); Too Much of a Good Thing (within shouting distance of this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in St. Michaels.
Other markers no longer nearby. Hooper Strait Lighthouse (was a few steps from this marker but has been replaced with another marker now near it); Point Lookout Fog Bell Tower (was a few steps from this marker but has been permanently removed); Miniature Skipjack, Spat
Photographed by Don Morfe, November 5, 2011
2. How the Screwpile Lighthouse Got Its Name Marker
Photographed by Don Morfe, November 5, 2011
3. How the Screwpile Lighthouse Got Its Name Marker
Photographed by Don Morfe, November 5, 2011
4. How the Screwpile Lighthouse Got Its Name Marker
Photographed by Don Morfe, November 5, 2011
5. How the Screwpile Lighthouse Got Its Name Marker
Photographed by Ian Lefkowitz, May 5, 2024
6. How the Screwpile Lighthouse Got Its Name Marker
Credits. This page was last revised on October 5, 2025. It was originally submitted on November 29, 2012, by Don Morfe of Baltimore, Maryland. This page has been viewed 533 times since then and 15 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on October 5, 2025, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on November 29, 2012, by Don Morfe of Baltimore, Maryland. 6. submitted on March 19, 2025, by Ian Lefkowitz of New York, New York. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.
