First Lighthouse Up For Auction For 2009
By Sue Clark on Jun 5, 2009 in Lighthouses For Sale 
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East Charity Shoal Lighthouse On the Block
An offshore lighthouse in Jefferson County, New York, in NE Lake Ontario has become the fist lighthouse up for auction in 2009. The East Charity Shoal lighthouse auction opened May 11, and has no set closing date at this time. No bids have been received, and as all government lighthouse auctions require, a $5,000 deposit is needed to bid. The suggested opening bid is $10,000. Historic covenants and USCG easements will be included in the deed to the successful high bidder. Registration on the General Services Administration auction site is required. Also, you will need to follow their rules carefully regarding the placing of bids.
This lighthouse was never manned at the site, although it did save the life of a boater who was washed overboard in 1955. A physician who’d treaded water for hours while his wife and friends frantically searched for him finally decided to swim for the lighthouse. After a total of eight hours in the water, the good doctor made it to the pier where he collapsed in exhaustion. He was found early the next morning.
Lighthouse Served On Two of the Great Lakes
East Charity Shoal Lighthouse is a cast iron and concrete beacon that was built in 1877, and actually was in a different location that it is now. It first saw service at the end of a pier in Vermillion Ohio, on Lake Erie. After the foundation developed a distinct lean from ice storm damage, the tower was removed in 1934 by the US Lighthouse Service, who replaced it with an automated tower.
Unbeknownst to the residents of Vermillion (who were quite fond of the old tower), the US Lighthouse Service moved it to Lake Ontario, and placed it on top of a concrete crib built on the East Charity Shoals in 1935. The new light replaced a navigational buoy that was never very successful in warning ships of the shoals. Descendants of one of the keepers at Lorain found a newspaper clipping that told of the old tower being salvaged and taken to Buffalo, NY, and a fundraising drive led to the building of a replica of the old light in 1991.
How To Bid
As mentioned above, registration and a $5,000 deposit at the auctions site will get you the rights to bid. There is an Invitation For Bids Fact Sheet you can download (PDF format) and at some point the Coast Guard and The General Services Administration will schedule an inspection of the lighthouse. For more information, you can contact Meta Cushing at the GSA via email or phone 1-617-565-5823. Please do not contact Lighthouse News with questions.
Historical information on this lighthouse was gleaned from Kraig Anderson’s Lighthouse Friends site. To read more about East Charity Shoals Lighthouse, please visit his page.
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1 Comment(s)
By Outdoor personal Training on Jun 8, 2009 | Reply
A light house for sale! This is the first time I am hearing of such a thing. What will the buyer do with a light house???