Point Lookout ( location ) Point Lookout is a swampland that was once Maryland ' s before the Great War . Background . Pre - War . Long before the Great War , the region of Point Lookout was discovered by English explorer John Smith in 1612 . Over two decades later , in 1634 , sent the first colonists to Maryland aboard two ships , . The settlers landed in Point Lookout and constructed the Ark & Dove Cathedral , naming it after the vessels that brought them to the New World . Point Lookout continued as a successful settlement . During the American Civil War , the region served as a Union - controlled camp for Confederate prisoners of war . Point Lookout remained very rural and isolated until the mid - 21st century , when the US Government declared the region a national park . In 2058 , despite local criticism and resistance , the Isla Negra real estate company purchased land and began developing new homes and attractions , after a deal with Constance Blackhall , a member of a wealthy family that had lived in the area for several centuries , owning a Victorian - style mansion . The small seaside town was developed into a tourist attraction , particularly with the boardwalk that pays homage to the original English settlers called " Pilgrim ' s Landing " . The Calvert family was highly influential within the US government , and according to Desmond Lockheart , owned half of Maryland . Their family home was located in Point Lookout . As during the American Civil War , the secluded backwater swamps of Point Lookout harbored another military prison , the Turtledove Detention Camp , for Chinese - Americans suspected of espionage against the United States , during the Sino - American War ( 2066 — 2077 ) . The infamous spy Wan Yang was arrested in Point Lookout and taken to the camp for interrogation , eventually being killed by the harsh and cruel interrogation techniques . Meanwhile , just off the coast of Point Lookout , a Chinese submarine patrolled and gathered information . This submarine was ultimately discovered and disabled , at which point a single submariner was captured and taken to Turtledove . The United States Navy successfully salvaged the submarine just prior to the Great War . Post - War . Point Lookout was never directly hit by the nuclear bombs that fell during the Great War , but here , the water of Point Lookout ' s bogs were contaminated by the Potomac River that flows out of the Capital Wasteland , and the wasteland ' s ir radiated terrain gives way to dense swamps and abandoned buildings where nature has largely replaced the human presence over two centuries . The area is home to the swampfolk , a crazed , highly deformed , inbred people who live all around the swamps of the region . Feral ghouls and swamplurks are a common sight here as well , as they are drawn to the area ' s radioactive swamp waters . Point Lookout is almost devoid of any organized society or signs of civilization . Other than Tobar the Ferryman , Haley of Haley ' s Hardware , Madame Panada , Marguerite and the Point Lookout tribals , it is extremely difficult to find someone to trade with . However , Point Lookout should be a treasure trove of pre - War technology and artifacts , since it escaped the nuclear turmoil that scarred most of the Earth . Thus , Point Lookout is more than just a small swampy marsh , but a cache of pre - War technology waiting to be exploited . However , the amount of technology actually available in the area is limited , considering not only its rural location , but its isolation from the rest of the wasteland . The area became known to outsiders from the Capital Wasteland thanks to punga fruit , a unique fruit known to grow only in the local bogs , and many legends about the supposed treasures hidden there . The pervasive radiation in the swamps ( as well as frequent inbreeding ) led to the birth and evolution of the swampfolk . The muck that contains the biogas , accumulated because of the radioactive contamination of the Civil War - era mass graves in the area . The decomposing bodies buried in these ancient mass graves were slowly decomposed into methane due to the unique environment , a dense limestone wetlands substratum . Due to the radiation ' s effects on the normal process of decay the mass Civil War - era graves in the area have become unusual patches of a greenish - gray , smoking and / or steaming earthy muck that releases flammable methane bubbles occasionally . Locations . There are 31 marked locations within Point Lookout as well as a few unmarked ones . They are as follows ( unmarked locations in " italics " ) : Appearances . Point Lookout is the eponymous location in which the " Fallout 3 " add - on " Point Lookout " takes place .