Historic Stratford Shoal Lighthouse in Long Island Sound Going Up For Sale at Auction

Every May, the US General Services Administration (USGSA) sells its inventory of lighthouses, and this year, the one closest to home is hitting the auction block.

You could say this is the ultimate waterfront property!

The Stratford Shoal Lighthouse was one of four lighthouses sold at auction. The lighthouse is also affectionately known around these areas as the “middle ground,” “middle ground,” or “middle ground” because it is about halfway between Long Island and Connecticut in the Long Island Sound, making it a great location for boaters and fishermen. That’s all. Another six are being given away for free across the country.

You read that right! For the price, the “middle ground” Stratford Shoal Light can be yours.

This year, according to Statement from the USGSA, a record number of lighthouses have been made available to the public, ten in total.this annual eventSince its inception in 2000, aka “Lighthouse Season” has raised more than $10 million for the US Coast Guard (USCG) to reinvest in its navigation aid mission.

According to the official USGSA listing, Stratford Shoal Light is located in East Setauket. It is approximately 5 nautical miles from Old Field Point Lighthouse and 5.5 nautical miles from Stamford, CT. It can only be reached by boat.

Bidding on The Stratford Shoal Light starts at $10,000 and will open on June 12, 2023. You can pay the winning bid fee by credit card or wire transfer. Click here Participate in the auction.

It appears that technology – like your GPS tracker – has made lighthouses largely obsolete for official use.

“While the U.S. Coast Guard may continue to maintain active navigation at or near specific lighthouses, the structures themselves are generally no longer critical to the U.S. Coast Guard’s mission requirements,” the U.S. Coast Guard said in a statement. “To protect the lighthouse’s history and heritage, Congress passed the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act (NHLPA) in 2000.”

The NHLPA plans – a partnership between USCG, the Departments of Homeland Security, the Department of the Interior, the National Park Service (NPS), and GSA – to transfer these historic landmarks from USCG to new owners.

Lighthouses may be turned over to federal or local governments, nonprofit organizations, or other agencies that must have the financial means to maintain a historic lighthouse and make it available to the public for educational or cultural purposes. But if an owner cannot be found during the process, the lighthouse will be sold to the public for open bidding via an online auction.

Nick Costaa lighthouse enthusiast and conservationist, owns Bodden Plains Lighthouse in Massachusetts and Wonder Reef Lighthouse On Lake Huron, the Stratford Shoal Lights have been observed for about eight years.

“Nick was given stewardship of the Lighthouse eight years ago,” explained President and Director Pam Setchell. Huntington Lighthouse Preservation Society In the past 30 years. “Now that the process has been completed, it is now up for public auction.”

This year, GSA released these six historic lighthouses in five states for free use by agencies:

• 
  Lynd Point Lighthouse in Old Saybrook, Connecticut.
• 
  Nobska Lighthouse, Falmouth (Woods Hole), Massachusetts.
• 
  Plymouth/Gurnet Lighthouse, Plymouth, Massachusetts.
• 
  Warwick Neck Lights, Warwick, Rhode Island.
• 
  Little Mark Island and Monument, Harpswell, Maine.
• 
  Port Erie North Pier Lighthouse, Erie, Pennsylvania. (NOA period recently ended.)

Additionally, the USGSA is auctioning off four historic lighthouses:

• 
  Penfield Reef Lighthouse, Fairfield, Connecticut
• 
  Stratford Shoal Light, East Setauket, New York
• 
  Port of Cleveland West Pier Lighthouse, Cleveland, Ohio
• 
  Keweenaw Waterway Lower Entrance Light, Chassell, Michigan

More than 150 lighthouses have been transferred to new owners through the program, with 81 lighthouses transferred to local governments and non-profit entities through free transfers, and approximately 70 lighthouses were sold through public auctions, raising more than $10 million. Auction sales ranged from $10,000 to $933,888.

The maintenance cost of the lighthouse is related to the plans of the new owner. Most lighthouses do not have any utilities, so there is a cost involved in making a lighthouse habitable.

But if you’ve ever had the romantic idea of ​​owning your own lighthouse, here’s your chance.

Photo: Detail view of the cupola, showing the original metal roof and paneling, and the modern lighthouse, looking northeast – Stratford Shoal Lighthouse, Long Island Sound, Bridgeport, Fairfield County, CT Photo via Survey HAER CT- 173. Brewster, Robert, photographer. Historical Engineering Records of the United States (Library of Congress). U.S. government jobs.

additional! Here are some crazy facts about Stratford Shoal Lights:

• 
  The lighthouse is located on the Stratford (or Middleground) shallows, over a mile in diameter
• 
  Adriaen Block, the first European to map Long Island Sound, identified two low islands on his voyage in 1614 at what is now Stratford Shoals
• 
  The islands were eroded below the water’s surface over two centuries
• 
  In 1820, a pair of buoys were placed at the north and south ends of the shoal, marking the shoal for navigation for the first time
• 
  In the early 1800s, Congress appropriated $10,000 to build a “floating light in the middle of Long Island Sound”
• 
  The ship was built in 1837 but failed due to drifting
• 
  The Stratford Shoal Lighthouse was completed in 1877 to replace the lighthouse on the artificial island in the natural shallows
• 
  the lighthouse keeper is stationed there to maintain it
• 
  The lighthouse was automated in 1970
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  Read more about Stratford Shoal Lights here