A rare opportunity to buy waterfront property in Fairfield and Stratford for a fraction of the cost of the average home in the area is currently running online at GSAAuctions.gov under the Real Estate category. However, buyers should be aware that both properties are rumored to be haunted, and also come with less supernatural strings attached.
Penfield Reef Lighthouse and Stratford Shoals Lighthouse are being auctioned through the Government Services Administration (GSA). The lighthouses both date to the 1870s and were operated by lighthouse keepers for almost 100 years before they were automated in the 1970s.
The auctions for both started on June 20. The GSA will accept bids until July 15, when the GSA auction site will go down for maintenance for an unspecified amount of time.
At the time of writing, nobody had bid on the Penfield Reef Lighthouse just off the shore of Fairfield , the opening bid stood at $50,000. Four bidders have made plays for the Stratford Shoals Lighthouse, bringing the current high bid to $50,556 from a starting bid of only $10,000.
In 2016, the Peck Ledge Lighthouse in Norwalk was sold to a private entity for $235,000 and now serves as a unique art space run in partnership with the Norwalk Art Space.
“The ultimate sales price varies by lighthouse,” said Paul Hughes, the GSA’s regional public affairs officer for New England, of the anticipated sale price. “GSA’s light station sale proceeds have ranged from $10,000 up to $933,888. As with any real estate, there are numerous factors that affect each property’s final price including location, condition of the property, and fluctuations in the real estate market.”
According to Hughes, these lighthouses were originally offered for free by the GSA to public entities and nonprofits that were interested in preserving them. With no takers, the U.S. Coast Guard and National Park Service were permitted under the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act to sell them to private buyers.
Walter Matis, the program and facilities coordinator for the Fairfield Museum and History Center, said that Penfield Reef Lighthouse is an attractive structure, but the costs of repair and upkeep likely kept many nonprofit organizations away from taking on an interest in the project. Further complicating major renovations is the fact the lighthouse is accessible only by boat.
“I’m sure they’ve kept it structurally sound, but my guess is it probably needs some help,” Matis said. “It’s definitely a fixer upper, I think that’s a safe statement.”
The exterior of the 1,568-square-foot keeper’s quarters and 51-foot-tall tower underwent restoration in 2015 to repair damage from Superstorm Sandy. The foundation also received upgrades, but the interior is in a state of disrepair. The old drop ceiling is the least of a buyer’s worries as the structure also contains lead paint, and an unspecified amount of asbestos. The installed solar panels are strictly for keeping the automated navigational aids operating.
Additionally, the property includes “submerged lands” which restricts potential uses without permission from the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.
According to Matis, local lore also holds that the structure is haunted by Fred Jordan, a former lighthouse keeper who drowned on his way to shore one night. After Jordan’s death, several of his replacements reported seeing a “grey figure” late at night apparently checking the logbook entries from the date of his death.
David Wright, town historian for Stratford and the vice president of the Stratford Historical Society, said he often shares with visitors to tales of a keeper who went mad and tried to destroy the Stratford Point Lighthouse before being subdued by an assistant. The cargo of bells aboard the sunken freighter Trustful is also said to be heard ringing when conditions are right.
The horseshoe-shaped property that the stone and brick lighthouse rests upon is considered part of Stratford but sits close enough to the New York-Connecticut marine border to cause some confusion. Close to the center of Long Island Sound, it remains an important navigational point, although according to Wright many from Stratford may not realize its significance.
“It is a turning point for many sailing regattas and competitive races that were held from Manhattan,” Wright said. “People only have a connection if they own boats and actually want to go out and see it. People in town probably have no idea that there is second lighthouse associated with Stratford unless they come to our open houses.”
Stratford Shoals Lighthouse has a 35-foot tower and has a slightly larger keeper’s cottage than Penfield Reef if the basement is counted for 2,352 square feet. When operational, it once had five bedrooms plus a living and sitting room alongside a kitchen and space for supply storage.
In both cases, Hughes said that the GSA advises that “those interested in bidding are strongly urged to read the Invitation for Bids.”
