Choptank River Lighthouse

Choptank River Lighthouse The Choptank River Lighthouse replica stands at the end of a dock on the waterfront in Cambridge, Md. Admission is free. Donations appreciated. Coast Guard.
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A small museum inside the lighthouse is open 9:30am-5pm daily May 1-Oct. 31. www.choptankriverlighthouse.org Completed in 2012, this is a replica of the Choptank River Lighthouse that guided ships in the Choptank River until 1964, when it was dismantled by the U.S. It served as an unforgettable icon to many—for generations of watermen, for visitors who came by steamboat, for sailors in regattas.

Today the replica has become a new icon for the city of Cambridge and all of Dorchester County, Maryland.

June on the Choptank: the days are long, the water is warming up, and there is no particular reason to be anywhere other...
06/03/2026

June on the Choptank: the days are long, the water is warming up, and there is no particular reason to be anywhere other than outside. We will see you out here.

The lighthouse is a symbol of our heritage, history, and our culture. The sunset isn’t bad, either. (Photo by Lin Perry)
06/01/2026

The lighthouse is a symbol of our heritage, history, and our culture. The sunset isn’t bad, either. (Photo by Lin Perry)

We spotted Marshall in the wild, sporting his lighthouse logo cap. He’s a board member; you can have one too, even if yo...
05/31/2026

We spotted Marshall in the wild, sporting his lighthouse logo cap. He’s a board member; you can have one too, even if you’re not a board member.

In gratitude for those whose lives were lost in service to our country.
05/25/2026

In gratitude for those whose lives were lost in service to our country.

This Memorial Day, we remember the men and women who served — many of them on waters not unlike this one. The weather th...
05/20/2026

This Memorial Day, we remember the men and women who served — many of them on waters not unlike this one. The weather this weekend is uncertain. Their sacrifice was not. Come to the river. Bring a jacket.

As our blustery spring winds make way for the hot, calm days of summer, it’s a perfect time to look back at how Chesapea...
05/16/2026

As our blustery spring winds make way for the hot, calm days of summer, it’s a perfect time to look back at how Chesapeake Bay boatbuilders adapted to lighter breezes!

Did you know that the famous Chesapeake skipjacks (also known as two-sail bateaux) were perfectly designed for calm weather? Born in the 1890s during a massive slump in oyster stocks, these single-masted sailing craft were incredibly cheap to build and quickly outnumbered larger, heavier vessels like two-masted schooners, bugeyes, and pungys.

Their real secret was their massive sails! A traditional skipjack featured a boom as long as the deck, a bowsprit as long as the boat was wide, and a heavily raked mast as tall as the boat's length and beam combined. All of that canvas—including a giant, loose-footed "leg of mutton" mainsail—gave skipjacks the power to pull heavy oyster dredges in light winds that left larger boats completely becalmed on the water.

Looking for a great way to enjoy the beautiful May weather? The Choptank River Lighthouse in Cambridge officially opens its doors to the public for free, self-guided tours from May through October.

Have you ever seen a skipjack sailing out on the Bay? We happen to have one in the close vicinity of our lighthouse. Let us know in the comments below!

Photo by Jill Jasuta Photography.

Come by the lighthouse this weekend. You never know who you might run into! No doubt you'll find a helpful, smiling face...
05/14/2026

Come by the lighthouse this weekend. You never know who you might run into! No doubt you'll find a helpful, smiling face and lots of history and culture.

With I Love Dorchester Heritage & Tourism – we just made it onto their weekly engagement list by being one of their top ...
05/13/2026

With I Love Dorchester Heritage & Tourism – we just made it onto their weekly engagement list by being one of their top engagers 🎉

Did you know that the iconic, spider-like lighthouses of the Chesapeake Bay owe their existence to a blind Irish invento...
05/12/2026

Did you know that the iconic, spider-like lighthouses of the Chesapeake Bay owe their existence to a blind Irish inventor?

In the early 1800s, building a lasting lighthouse on the shifting, muddy shoals of the Chesapeake and Delaware Bays seemed nearly impossible. Traditional stone or wood structures built on these shifting sands were quickly torn apart by the sea.

Enter Alexander Mitchell! Born in Dublin in 1780, Mitchell became completely blind by his early 40s, but that didn't stop his brilliant mind from tinkering. After retiring from a career in brick-making at age 52, he set out to solve the problem of building safe beacons on sandy foundations.

Famously inspired by the corkscrews he used to open wine bottles, Mitchell invented the "screwpile" design. This innovation involved attaching a broad, cast-iron spiral fl**ge to the base of a piling, allowing it to be literally screwed directly into the muddy sea floor to provide a remarkably stable foundation.

His invention revolutionized maritime safety. The very first American screwpile lighthouse was built at Brandywine Shoal in the Delaware Bay in 1850. Soon, these relatively inexpensive, quick-to-build structures became incredibly popular, and dozens of these distinct cottage-topped beacons popped up to dot the Chesapeake Bay. Today, Mitchell's legacy lives on in the modern "helical" design used by engineers for everything from electric transmission towers to home foundations!

Learn more about screwpile lighthouses and more Bay history with a visit this weekend!

The pier is there. The lighthouse is there. The river is there. The only missing element is you. Come visit the lighthou...
05/08/2026

The pier is there. The lighthouse is there. The river is there. The only missing element is you. Come visit the lighthouse this weekend.

Address

1 High Street
Cambridge, MD
21613

Opening Hours

Monday 9:30am - 5:30pm
Tuesday 9:30am - 5:30pm
Wednesday 9:30am - 5:30pm
Thursday 9:30am - 5:30pm
Friday 9:30am - 5:30pm
Saturday 9:30am - 5:30pm
Sunday 9:30am - 5:30pm

Telephone

+14104632653

Website

https://viewer.threshold360.com/?thresholdId=8498500-1596520107&preset=share

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