School and Garrison Apply for Conneaut Lighthouse
By Sue Clark on Jul 7, 2007 in News 
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Two very diverse groups, and not your usual non-profit preservation societies, have applied for ownership of the Conneaut Harbor West Breakwater Light, located at the entrance to Conneaut River in Ashtabula County, Ohio. Conneaut has been excessed by the Coast Guard, and the General Services Administration (GSA) has put it out for adoption. Conneaut is still an active aid to navigation, and easements to the beacon will be retained by the Coast Guard for maintaining the light.
According to the Star Beacon, two letters of interest were received by Monday’s deadline, one from Yeshivas Doresh, a Jewish education program for teenagers based in Cleveland Heights, Ohio; the other from the Army and Navy Union Garrison in Marion, Ohio. The school group would like to use the lighthouse as a site for teaching their special education students, and the Garrison wants to use it to have their members display their restorative talents.
As more lighthouses are being excessed, it’s possible we’ll be seeing more and unusual uses for them, as these two applications seem to indicate. While the idea of using it as a school might seem to be a good idea, I would have to wonder about the group’s ability to restore and make safe a lightstation built in 1935. Removal of the lead based paint is always a high cost, and I certainly wouldn’t want to see the young teens, who may not always follow all safety precautions, exposed to it.
If the two groups are not found to be monetarily capable of handling the restoration work, then the lighthouse will be offered for sale to the general public.
If, however, you are a non-profit group in Ohio, or are interested in forming one, the Cleveland East Ledge Light, in Cleveland Harbor, has just (as of 5 July, 2007) been put on the “excess list” (PDF file, will open in new window) by the GSA. The light is one of two in the harbor, is still an active aid to navigation, and is offshore of Cleveland. The title does not include the submerged lands, and of course the Coast Guard will maintain an easement to the light, along with the right to add any modifications or improvements to the the station, such as transmitters, radio beacons, etc. The light is accessible by boat only. Letters of interest must be received by 5 September, 2007.
For more information on the Lighthouse Program, visit the Office of Property Dispersal website. Let’s hope another group steps up to save another historic beacon. What do you think…should lighthouses be allowed to go to non-traditional owners, such as schools? Or should it remain the job of historic preservation societies to restore and preserve these monuments to our maritime past?
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