Holland Island Bar Light, no longer standing, was built in 1889 at a cost of $35,000. A screwpile lighthouse, it was built off Holland Island, MD, in the Holland Straits, slightly northeast of Point Lookout. Over the years, the lighthouse saw many different keepers, but the most (in)famous of those was Ulman Owens. Today when people hear of Holland Island Bar Light, many remember it for the mysterious death of its keeper in 1931. To this day, accounts differ regarding the circumstances of Owens’s death. There continues to be speculation on exactly when he was found and the state of the lighthouse upon arrival. The last entry in the lighthouse log was made by Owens on March 12, 1931. For the next two nights various people noticed that the light at Holland Island Bar was not lit and informed local officials. On the night of the supposed murder, one local captain noticed a small boat with no running lights cruising in the vicinity of the lighthouse. Holland Island Bar Light, 1955. Photo courtesy of the USCG When officials made it to the structure, they found 55-year old Owens dead in the living quarters. The interior of the lighthouse was said to be in a state of disarray; chairs were overturned, there were blood stains, and a butcher knife was found near Owens’s body. However, there was no evidence of a gunshot wound or stabbing, only small scrapes and bruises. There has been much speculation over the years as to how and why the middle-aged lighthouse keeper died that night. Some posit that the mysterious boat seen on the night of the murder was sailed by a group of rum runners. Owens was alone in the lighthouse, 12 miles out at sea, in an area where rum runners were known to operate at night. Some locals remembered him as a man that talked too much, so maybe he saw something he wasn’t supposed to see? Another theory centered on Owens’s womanizing tendencies; some believed he was killed by a jealous husband. With so many questions left unanswered, local authorities eventually called in the FBI led by legendary G-Man Melvin Purvis (best known for capturing gangster John Dillinger). In the end the Feds ruled that Owens died of natural causes after an autopsy revealed an enlarged heart. But many locals still contend that it was murder. After the investigation into Owens’s death was closed, it was decided that there should always be at least two keepers in the lighthouse at a time. And for more than 20 years, Holland Island Bar Light and its keepers led a quiet existence, that is until 1957. On the night of February 19, 1957, the lighthouse was mistakenly “attacked” by U.S. Navy Pilots during a training exercise. Very near to the lighthouse were the remains of a large ship, the Hannibal, which were frequently used for target practice by the Navy. On that winter night, the pilots mistook the lighthouse for the Hannibal, and while the rockets they fired did not contain explosives, three shells hit the structure and caused considerable damage to the roof and some of the iron pilings. The four keepers were inside the lighthouse at the time of the “attack.” After calling the U.S. Coast Guard, they were evacuated but quickly returned the next day to begin repairs. Just three years later, the lighthouse was dismantled and replaced by an automatic beacon on the original foundation.