Owning a Lighthouse

We bought the Portage River Lighthouse in 2022, and we did not set out to buy a lighthouse. We were looking for a place on Lake Superior. This page is what we wish someone had told us: how lighthouses change hands, what to ask before you buy, and what owning one is actually like.

 

Two ways a lighthouse changes hands

From the federal government. Since 2000, the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act has given the government a way to pass on light stations it no longer needs. Public agencies, nonprofits and educational or community groups can apply to take one at no cost, and the National Park Service reviews those applications. If no steward steps forward, the General Services Administration (GSA) sells the light at a public auction. By 2023, GSA counted more than 150 lighthouses passed on this way: 81 transferred free to public and nonprofit stewards, and about 70 sold to the public.

A federal sale comes with strings. The deed carries covenants that protect the light's historic character, and if a working aid to navigation is still on the property, the Coast Guard keeps it, maintains it and can reach it. Some sales leave things out: the lens, or the lakebed under a crib light.

Our neighbor is a good example. The Keweenaw Waterway Lower Entrance Light, the 1920 breakwater light that took over our light's job, went up for GSA auction in 2023 with a $10,000 starting bid and a $10,000 deposit just to register.

From a private owner. Once a lighthouse is in private hands, it sells like any other house: through a real estate agent, on the same listing sites. That is how ours was sold, and how we found it. The federal government first sold the Portage River Lighthouse at auction in 1958, and it has passed between private owners ever since.

 

How we found ours

Chris had a list: direct lake access, a view, room for kayaks and toys, a price we could afford, and nothing generic. For years Susan searched Zillow and Realtor.com for the Bayfield Peninsula in Wisconsin. One night she widened the search east along the Lake Superior shore, found a listing for the Jacobsville Lighthouse Inn, and sent it to Chris as a joke.

He didn't treat it as a joke. We are both engineers, so we researched the area and sent the agent a long list of questions. It was late March and the place was still under snow, so we waited, and drove up over Easter break to talk ourselves out of it. Instead, standing in the snow in front of a tower with a peeling coat and grounds so overgrown we could barely see the lake, we were smitten. After a round of negotiation, we closed the day after our kids finished school. Read the whole story.

 

Before you buy: what we would ask

What shape is the tower in? The tower is the expensive part. On the day we closed, the coating on ours began to come apart.

What does the deed say? Look for historic covenants, easements, and any rights the Coast Guard keeps.

Is there still a working light? If there is, it belongs to the Coast Guard, not to you.

What are the limits on changes? Covenants or a historic designation can govern windows, paint and additions.

Have you seen it in the off season? We visited in March snow. Lake Superior winters decide a lot about access, heating and repairs.

Are you ready for visitors? People will come to see it. Ours is a private home, and we ask visitors to stay at the gravel area in front of the fence.

 

What owning one is really like

The work never really ends. Our list includes new roofs, the tower, brick repair under old "band-aid" panels, historically correct double-hung windows, and the carriage shed. We share each step in the Keeper's Log.

It also comes with company: lighthouse travelers collecting passport stamps, descendants of keepers, and neighbors with stories about the light.

 

Where to look

GSA lighthouse sales. Federal lights for transfer or auction are announced each year, usually in the spring and summer.

The National Park Service lighthouse program. How nonprofits and public groups apply for a free transfer.

Real estate sites. Zillow, Realtor.com, and old-house sites such as Old House Dreams. Search the shoreline, not just the word "lighthouse."

Lighthouse groups. The Great Lakes Lighthouse Keepers Association, the United States Lighthouse Society, the American Lighthouse Foundation, and the Lighthouses of the Great Lakes group on Facebook. People there often hear about sales first.

 

Frequently asked questions

Can you buy a lighthouse? Yes. The federal government sells some at auction, and privately owned lighthouses sell through real estate agents like any home.

How much does a lighthouse cost? It varies widely. Federal auctions can open low (the Keweenaw Waterway Lower Entrance Light started at $10,000), but restoration usually costs far more than the purchase. Privately owned lighthouses with houses are priced like other waterfront homes.

Do you have to keep the light on? Not usually. If a light is still an active aid to navigation, the Coast Guard runs and maintains it. The Portage River Light was discontinued in 1920.

Can you live in a lighthouse? Yes. The Portage River Lighthouse is our home.

Is the Portage River Lighthouse for sale? No.

 

Sources

National Park Service, National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act program.

54 U.S. Code 305106, sale of historic light stations and deed covenants.

GSA, "GSA announces public auction for Keweenaw Waterway," August 1, 2023.

NPR, May 28, 2023, citing GSA's count of lighthouses transferred and sold since 2000.

Our own purchase, 2022.

Last reviewed: November 2026