If you’re in the market for a lighthouse this summer, you might just be in luck.
The federal government is either giving away or auctioning off six lighthouses in New England, including two in Massachusetts: the Nobska Lighthouse in the village of Woods Hole in Falmouth and Gurnet Light, or Plymouth Light, in Plymouth.
The potential transfers of the shoreline buildings are part of a program run by the U.S. General Services Administration. Each May, the agency offers lighthouses to the public and other entities with the goal of saving taxpayer money by offloading ownership of federal real estate. This year, a record number of lighthouses are being offered, including at least six to nonprofits and government entities and at least four more to the public through auctions, according to a statement from the GSA.
“Lighthouses have long served as beacons for those at sea or on inland waters, marking dangerous coastlines and underwater hazards such as rocks and reefs as well as marking safe entries to harbors,” the GSA said. “As technology advanced, and lighthouses became less essential to navigation, lighthouses often fell into neglect or were demolished.”
Through the program, a lighthouse may initially be transferred at no cost to a federal agency, state or local government, nonprofit, educational agency or community development organization. However, the entity assuming ownership over the historic light station must be financially able to do so and must make the station available to the public for educational, recreational, cultural or historic preservation purposes at reasonable times and under reasonable conditions, according to the GSA.
If no new owner is found through this initial process, the lighthouse is then offered up for competitive sale to the public through an online auction, the agency noted.
This year, the GSA is seeking to transfer ownership over six historic lighthouses in five states for free. These buildings include: the Erie Harbor North Pier Light in Erie, Pennsylvania; Gurnet Light; the Little Mark Island Monument and the roughly one-acre island the monument sits on in Harpswell, Maine; the Lynde Point Lighthouse in Old Saybrook, Connecticut; the Nobska Lighthouse; and Warwick Light in Warwick, Rhode Island.
Built in 1876, the Nobska Lighthouse is described by the GSA as a white, cylindrical, 40-foot tower that consists of four rings of iron panels and is capped with a standard cast-iron lantern. Other structures located on the four-acre property include the original keeper’s quarters, a second keeper’s quarters, a brick oil house, paint lockers, a garage and a radio building beacon.
Gurnet Light was originally built in 1768 but burned down and was rebuilt as a pair of lights in 1801, according to the GSA. The lights were reconstructed again 41 years later, and in 1901, the northern light was torn down, but the foundation remains at the site. The current white, octagonal, wooden lighthouse is 34 feet high, is capped with a standard cast iron lantern and houses a modern beacon.
The GSA is also offering four other historic lighthouses for sale by auction. They include: the Cleveland Harbor West Pierhead Lighthouse in Cleveland, Ohio; the Keweenaw Waterway Lower Entrance Lighthouse in Chassell, Michigan; the Penfield Reef Lighthouse in Fairfield, Connecticut; and Stratford Shoal Light in East Setauket, New York.
The program the GSA runs dates back to 2000, when Congress passed the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act to protect the history and heritage of lighthouses. Since then, more than 150 lighthouses have been transferred to new owners, including 81 to local governments and nonprofits for free and around 70 by public auction, which raised more than $10 million dollars.
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