$1.9M Marked for Piney Point Project

By Michaila Shahan

A proposed restoration project in St. Mary’s County got a major boost from the federal government recently. On June 7, Sens. Chris Van Hollen and Ben Cardin, with Rep. Steny Hoyer, announced that $1.93 million will be available to fund a restoration project at the Piney Point Lighthouse Museum and Historic Park, which sits on the shore of the Potomac River, overlooking the coastline and St. George Island.

The funding comes from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, which hopes to reduce damage done by “extreme weather patterns, causing severe storms, and flooding,” said Hoyer. This funding comes from the Emergency Coastal Resilience Fund and will be directed to the St. Mary’s County Department of Public Works and Transportation.

The lighthouse property has suffered over the years from shoreline erosion. “The banks and shoreline area of the Piney Point Museum have been eroding significantly, resulting in 20 feet of the beach having been lost,” stated Van Hollen in a news release.

The property was purchased by the government in 1835 and consists of a 6-acre park along the western end of St. Mary’s County with views of the river, along with a kayak launch and the 1836 conical, 35-foot-tall lighthouse. A log canoe, a 67-foot skipjack, an 85-foot bugeye and a Potomac River dory boat can be found in an exhibit on watermen at the site. In the 19th to early 20th century, Presidents Franklin Pierce and Theodore Roosevelt vacationed at Piney Point, with President James Monroe’s cottage on the location becoming known as “the summer White House,” according to the park.

The museum also includes an exhibit of the WWII U-1105 Black Panther German submarine, which lies just offshore in an area designated as the state’s first Historic Shipwreck Dive Preserve.

Restoration efforts, which began in 1990, are now well on their way to what Van Hollen says is a project for the “preservation of our local treasures.” The $1.9 million (along with $132,730 from the county) “will provide a resilient and functional shoreline to the community and construct approximately 1,100 feet of living shoreline,” he says. The shoreline restoration project promises that 0.63 acres of tidal wetlands will be enhanced.

During the summer months, visitors can spot ospreys nesting along Piney Point’s waterline, which is teeming with small fish, from views on the pier and the surrounding boardwalk.

Hoyer says the funds will “make our communities more durable to the impacts of a warming climate, recover faster from damages brought by climate change, and protect our precious wildlife.”

“This grant will help stem the erosion that increasingly threatens one of Southern Maryland’s most recognizable sites and important cultural hubs, ensuring that future generations of local residents and visitors have the opportunity to experience the unique Piney Point Lighthouse and Museum,” Cardin stated.