The modest beacon, only thirty-eight feet tall, happens to be the highest of 74 lighthouses located on the Chesapeake Bay because it stands on a hundred-foot-high bluff. Its focal plane of 129 feet was visible for 13 miles. Not bad for such a small light!

The purpose of this beacon, lighted in 1833, was to mark the Elk River entrance, providing notice to captains navigating their course into the mouth of the new C&D Canal . The Federal Government paid contractor John Donohoo $4,355 to erect a simple, yet effective lighthouse for this key location. He was an excellent choice, since his previous work had included the Thomas Point , Piney Point and Point Lookout lighthouses, which also grace the shores of the Chesapeake Bay .

Workers installed a Fourth order Fresnel lens, which was dusted on a daily basis with a soft chamois and polished weekly. The Lightkeeper was also responsible for maintaining the grounds, including the oil house and other outbuildings. For more than twenty years, Mrs. Fannie Salter kept the light at Turkey Point. She received her appointment from President Calvin Coolidge in 1925 after her husband, the previous keeper, died. She was the last female in the nation’s corps of civilian Keepers and retired in 1947 when the station was automated. Unfortunately, the Fourth order Fresnel lens was stolen shortly thereafter.

Although the tower and oil house still stand, the Keeper’s Dwelling is long gone. The entire station was turned over to the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, where it remains in their care, standing relatively alone within the Elk Neck State Park , a major game preserve.