You Could Be the Proud Owner of a Connecticut Lighthouse

Every thought about doing something like buying a lighthouse and living in it? Granted it looks so awesome in the movies, right? In general, there are not too many lighthouses that come up for sale. There are only about 200 in the world, most of them are partly, if not fully automated.

But come, on! How cool would it be? The one that will be going up for auction in June is based of the coast of Fairfield, CT. It is called the Penfield Reef Lighthouse and according to New England Lighthouses.Net, the first time it was inhabited was January of 1874.

This probably is not the place that you would want to call you 'main home.' Can you imagine trying to get a wi-fi signal here? Plus as an owner of a lighthouse, you have certain responsibilities to be the steward of the property. Are you still in? Still thinking about it? As the steward you would need to allow visitors to the property, because it is technically a park. You would be able to establish hours, days, etc and then at the end of every year, you would need to share with the Coast Guard how many visitors you had to the island. This is just one of the things you would need to do as the steward. No, you don't have to turn the light off and on at night, but you might want to invest in a good, no make that great, set of earplugs.

There is a fog horn on the lighthouse that will sound obviously when it is foggy. It can be heard from one nautical mile. Did I lose you?

According to the US General Service Administration, here is a description of the property:

The 51-foot tall octagonal light structure is attached to a square two-story keeper’s quarters building constructed of granite and timber frames. There is a boat landing that projects from the north side and a metal ladder to reach two flights of steps – connecting the landing with the main deck above and rip rap below.

There have been several attempts to sell the lighthouse as it was deemed "excess property" in 2005 and that is when the journey began to find a new person to take over the lighthouse. While that search was ongoing, Hurricane Sandy in 2012, caused significant damage to the property. In 2015, it was fully restored to its luster and will allegedly be able to withstand the weather.

While I have touched on just a few of the not so great things about the lighthouse. Did I mention there is no utilities? Power is supplied by a few solar panels. You can look into additional sources. As always, do your homework. Read everything you can get your hands on about what commitments you would be required to do as owner. Best of luck.

Here is where you can start your research, click here.