The U.S. government is giving away or selling and number of lighthouses as part of a federal program to share the “historic treasures” with the public. Photo courtesy of U.S. General Services Administration
July 1 (UPI) — The U.S. government is giving away or selling and number of lighthouses as part of a federal program to share the “historic treasures” with the public.
The U.S. General Services Administration, a federal agency tasked with managing government assets, currently has five lighthouses in New England that the agency plans to give nonprofits or state and local agencies that apply and meet certain criteria for selection.
Another two lighthouses in Michigan and Ohio are currently on the auction block for purchase by the general public.
Maintaining such lighthouses was a drain on the budget of the U.S. Coast Guard until the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act was created in 2000 to address the aging lighthouse infrastructure, which requires costly maintenance and is often vulnerable to vandalism.
The GSA works with the U.S. Coast Guard and National Park Service to determine what lighthouses are to be offloaded and instead of getting rid of the lighthouses, which are often of sentimental and historical value, the law allows the federal government to give them to qualified applicants.
Those where a qualified candidate has not been selected to assume ownership are sold to the public at an auction each year.
“To date, more than 151 lighthouses have been sold or transferred out of federal ownership, with 81 transferred at no cost to eligible entities, and 70 sold by auction to the public, generating about $10 million,” the GSA website reads.
The five lighthouses the government seeks to give to qualified nonprofits or other agencies include: Lynde Point in Connecticut; Little Mark Island and Monument in Maine; Warwick Neck Lighthouse in Rhode Island; and two in Massachusetts, the Nobska Lighthouse and Plymouth (Gurnet) Lighthouse.
The Lynde Point Lighthouse is located in the town of Old Saybrook and includes a two-family house and garage. The Little Mark Island includes a one-acre island and a pyramidal stone masonry tower constructed in 1827.
The Gurnet Lighthouse in Plymouth is 34 feet tall and sits on a 7.8-acre property that can only be accessed with a four-wheel-drive vehicle. The property includes a single-story ranch-style house with a basement, garage, solar system and a storage shed.
It was originally built in 1768 but burned down and was rebuilt as a pair of lights in 1801. The lights were then reconstructed again in 1842. In 1901, the northern light was torn down.
The Nobska Lighthouse is a 40-foot tall cylindrical tower built in 1876 on a four-acre property that includes the original keeper’s quarters, a brick oil house and paint lockers.
“The second keeper’s quarters which is connected to the original was added in 1900. The garage was built in 1931 and the radio building beacon was built in 1937,” the listing reads.
Meanwhile, the Warwick Neck Lighthouse is a 51-foot-tall tower on a .8-acre property that includes a single-family dwelling with basement, detached garage and a storage shed.
The Keweenaw Waterway Lower Entrance Lighthouse in Michigan, which opened in 1919, has an opening bid price of $10,000. It remains an active aid to navigation and was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2014.
“Due to the previous steward’s inability to comply with the requirements of the National Lighthouse Preservation Act of 2000, the light is now available for purchase through public auction,” the notice reads.
Meanwhile, the Cleveland Harbor West Pierhead Lighthouse in Ohio is listed with an opening bid of $25,000. The property is only accessible by boat.