Even though Congress appropriated lighthouse funds for the Drum Point location in 1853, the Chesapeake beacon construction dragged on until the 1880s. First lit in 1883, after a 50 year wait, the cottage style lighthouse was set up on cast-iron screw jacks and remained in service until 1962. Originally the navigation aid was designed as a land based beacon. Politics and paperwork delayed the project until a submerged property site title was secured.
   An old light-keeper's log book, preserved in the national archives, gives a picture of the daily chores of lighthouse maintenance. Some not-so-usual records detailed an overboard rescue, an unnerving February Patuxent River ice flow that shook up the lighthouse residents. More tremors were felt at the lighthouse when a magnitude 7 quake rocked the structure during the Charleston Earthquake.
   Today, the Drum Point Lighthouse (Cove Point Lighthouse) is part of the Calvert Marine Museum. Rescued from vandals, the lighthouse is a main feature at this Maryland attraction. The museum also displays exhibits of the seafood industry, area batoids, and the paleontology zone. Other features include a place for children's fun in the discovery room, the vintage J.C. Lore & Sons Oyster House, and a woodworking & model shop.

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