Attention lighthouse aficionados, here's your chance to own a piece of history. Yes, you can but your very own slightly surplus lighthouse. Slightly in this case means the light and foghorn remains functional. The new owner has to allow the US Coast Guard access to the lighthouse at any time to allow maintenance on those. But the new owners get to maintain the structure.
Point No Point, as it's called, is not the type of lighthouse that's featured on postcards, towering nobly over surging waves, surrounded by rocky cliffs and billowing clouds. As a piece of real estate, this one is definitely a fixer-upper.
A century's worth of seagull droppings coats the roof. There are no utilities, just an outhouse hanging off the edge of a deck about a story above sea level.
Complicating matters for any would-be owner is that Point No Point Lighthouse is not accessible by road or even located on land. It rises stubbily out of the Chesapeake Bay more than two nautical miles from the Southern Maryland shore.
So it was that on a recent chilly morning, after the federal government decided to sell the 102-year-old lighthouse, nine prospective buyers gathered at a dock in St. Mary's County. For some, it was their second attempt at a viewing; an open house last month was canceled because of high seas. To see the lighthouse, prospective buyers had to pay a refundable deposit of $10,000.
They strapped on life jackets, climbed aboard two U.S. Coast Guard boats and headed into the bay, water spraying as a crane feeding near the shore faded to a speck and disappeared.
"There it is," passenger Kay Burrell said as Point No Point appeared in the distance, looking like a giant buoy. This, she had been thinking, could be a project for her and her husband, Tom, now that the kids are in college.
As the lighthouse neared, it became clear how much of a project it would be. Before setting foot on Point No Point, passengers were reminded not to lean against railings and were told that they were entering at their own risk.
There are picture at this link. Congress authorized the sale of lighthouses in 2000. I have no idea why. My wife happens to be a lover of lighthouses and she rather thought there was no point in owning Point No Point. I just thought I'd point that out.
My wife is also a lighthouse nut. The government is selling them because most of them are no longer needed and the only way to preserve them is to get a private owner to pay for the upkeep.
An excellent point, Gaius!
On the other hand, this one would be nice:
http://gallooislandlighthouse.com/
Yes it would. That looks to be a very nice one with serious potential.
Given the age of that thing, I wouldn’t worry in the least about living there. It has probably withstood some serious storms, the worst of which probably being Hazel of 1954 which people were STILL talking about when I was a young child.