Ragged Point lies due west of Piney Point, on the Virginia side of the Chesapeake Bay, near Coles Point. In 1910, the last of the Potomac River lighthouses was built just off Ragged Point - while the lighthouse is named for a location in Virginia, it was actually built in Maryland waters.

A request for a lighthouse on Ragged Point actually dates back to 1835, when the Lighthouse Board discussed the merits of a lightship at Ragged Point versus a lighthouse at Piney Point. Eventually the lighthouse was built at Piney Point, but Ragged Point was left unmarked. In 1896, the Board requested $20,000 to build a light at Ragged Point. It was not until 1910, however, that over $34,000 was spent to built the Ragged Point light. A screwpile was built instead of a caisson, presumably since the lighthouse was in the Potomac, and not out in the open Chesapeake. The light was a hexagonal, two story screwpile with a fourth-order lens and fog bell.

In the early 1960's, pilots from the Patuxent Naval Air Station strafed the lighthouse, thinking it was abandoned. In fact, the lighthouse was still manned - the strafing stopped when the startled pilots saw the equally startled coastguardsmen appear on the lighthouse catwalk.

In 1962 the lighthouse was one of the first screwpiles to be decommissioned and automated. An automated beacon still stands from the top of the original foundation.

References (see links)

Forgotten Beacons, Hornberger and Turbyville pp. 96
The Lighthouses of the Chesapeake, de Gast p. 156
Lighting the Bay: Tales of Chesapeake Lighthouses, Vojtech pp. 131, 179