The Thomas Point Light is arguably the most widely recognized lighthouse in Maryland. Located on the Chesapeake Bay, south of Annapolis, the lighthouse was manned until 1986 and was the last lighthouse on the Chesapeake Bay to be fully automated. The Lighthouse Service, created in 1789, became part of the Coast Guard in 1939. The tradition of ensuring the safe navigation of the seas that began with the running of lighthouses continues today. The Coast Guard maintains the "signposts" and "traffic signals"--more than 50,000 federal aids to navigation, including buoys, lighthouses, day beacons, and radio-navigation signals--on the nation's waterways.
