The Lighthouse Board had previously erected several economical screwpile lighthouses at various points in the Bay - only to see many of them succumb to heavy fields of moving ice. Desiring to build a sturdier caisson-type lighthouse on Thomas Point Shoal, the Lighthouse Board requested an additional $25,000 for the project. When the additional funding was not immediately granted, the decision was made to proceed with a screwpile design. Five acres of submerged land was conveyed to the Federal Government by the State of Maryland on October 28, 1874, and with an additional $15,000 allocated by Congress in March of 1875, the Thomas Point Shoal Lighthouse was ready for its inaugural lighting on November 20, 1875.

The lighthouse’s hexagonal cottage has a diameter of thirty-five feet and rests upon seven piles, a single central pile and six perimeter piles. The dwelling is picturesque, exhibiting such careful touches as carved balusters on the walkways encircling both the first level and the lantern, and six dormer windows interrupting the dwelling’s sloping roof at regular intervals.