It didn't take long for the recently restored Pooles Island Lighthouse to be vandalized.

The lighthouse, which is on the Aberdeen Proving Grounds, is Maryland's oldest standing lighthouse on the Chesapeake Bay and is off limits to the public. However, vandals had no problem getting to the lighthouse at some point and vandalized the lighthouse's new mahogany door.

It took a lot of time and research to replicate the original door that was made over 170 years ago and is now on display at the APG's Cultural Resource Center. The new door was as close to the original design, which was fabricated by John Donahoo, who built the original Pooles Island Lighthouse and, later, the Concord Point Lighthouse.

Apparently, the vandals used some type of metal object to pry the door open, damaging the mahogany and popping bolts out of the steel strapping.

Whoever broke open the door to the lighthouse, cleaned up their party mess in a trash bag, which they left behind.

"It's a shame this needed to be done for a few potato chips and beer," said Gill Lookingland as he expressed his grief. Lookingland is one of the original team members who replicated the door.

When the lighthouse was recently renovated, the area was littered with trash and beer cans and the lighthouse had graffiti painted on it. What's amazing is that people who go out to the lighthouse are risking their lives since there is still the large possibility of unexploded ordinance on the island. The area is clearly marked with signs prohibiting entry and stating that trespassing is not permitted. Special Agent William Armstrong of the Wildlife and Marine Enforcement Division said penalties could include a fine of up to $100,000 and up to a year in jail. The government has stated that it has beefed up patrols in the area and will work on a long range plan to protect the lighthouse, which is on the National Register of Historic Places.

This story appeared in the February 1999 edition of Lighthouse Digest Magazine. The print edition contains more stories than our internet edition, and each story generally contains more photographs - often many more - in the print edition. For subscription information about the print edition, click here.

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