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When the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act was passed in 2000, it was announced that there were about 300 lighthouses being considered for transfer. That is a lot of property to handle, and there had to be a way to manage the program efficiently. The process established to implement the NHLPA involves several federal agencies. When it is determined that a lighthouse station is “excess to its needs” by the U.S. Coast Guard, the General Services Administration (GSA) issues a Notice of Availability. Interested parties then have 60 days to submit a letter of interest to the GSA and a copy of that letter to the State Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO) for the state where the lighthouse is located.
The SHPOs play an important role in getting properties listed as historic and in helping to maintain the standards by which these properties are restored and maintained. There is certain information the letter of interest must contain, and if it doesn’t, that entity likely won’t be qualified. Those that are deemed qualified by GSA are forwarded to the National Park Service (NPS). NPS sends those organizations an application. They are given an opportunity to visit the property, where the potential applicant can inspect it and determine if they are still interested. After the site visit, they have 90 days in which to submit the application.
The applications are reviewed by an NPS Review Committee, which checks them for completeness. The Committee looks at several elements including past performance, ability to carry forward the goals of the NHLPA, determines if the application complies with the standards set out by the Secretary of the Interior’s treatment of historic properties, and they will determine whether the details in the application comply with the legal requirements for the NHLPA and the NHPA. The applicable state SHPO is provided with a copy, and is asked for input. Once reviewed, the committee sends its recommendation to the Secretary of the Interior.
If there are multiple applications, those that are rejected have an opportunity to request a review of the evaluation and recommendation. This occurred with more than one of the lighthouses in the first year’s pilot program. Both Tybee Island and Currituck Beach Lighthouses had more than one entity interested. In both cases, a non-profit organization had spent years raising money and restoring the lighthouses. When they came up for transfer, the city in one case and the county in another wanted to take ownership. In both cases, the organization that had spent years working on the lighthouse and proving their commitment was awarded the light.
Once the decision is made, the Secretary of the Interior notifies the Administrator of GSA, and GSA conveys the property to the recipient. If no acceptable steward is found, the property will be offered for sale by competitive bid or auction. These are posted on the GSA Auctions site.
In 2001, nine lighthouses were put on the Notice of Availability, indicating they had been deemed excess by the United States Coast Guard (USCG) under a pilot program. The process explained above was followed, and as a result, eight of the light stations were transferred under the program and one was made as a Federal Transfer. These transfers didn’t all happen in 2001. In fact, none of them did. As you can imagine, the process takes some time. But five transfers took place quickly and were completed in 2002. Another took until 2004, a third in 2005, and a fourth didn’t happen until 2010. Another was transferred to another Federal agency in 2014. So, while it took some time for some of the lighthouses, all of those listed in the initial pilot program were eventually transferred.
The success of the pilot program probably had something to do with the fact that several of the lighthouses on the notices of availability list already had non-profit organizations working to benefit them or were willing to step in. For example, St. Augustine Lighthouse, the second light transferred in the pilot program, was previously leased to a group of 15 women who had organized and obtained a ninety-nine-year lease for the Keeper’s House. They began restoration efforts and, eight years later, opened it as a museum. The tower also underwent restoration and was opened to the public in 1994. As a result of their work and information provided in the application, the lighthouse was transferred to the St. Augustine Lighthouse and Museum Inc. through the NHLPA. The light station is open to the public and is operated as a private aid to navigation.
Efforts to save Esopus Meadows had also started years prior to the NHLPA by the Save Esopus Lighthouse Commission (SELC), which began in the late 1990s. Currituck Beach Lighthouse had been abandoned and was in very bad condition when a group of individuals formed the Outer Banks Conservationists Inc. (OBC) in 1980. They leased the property from the state of North Carolina. The OBC raised millions of dollars and restored both the Keeper’s House and tower, which was then opened to the public in 1990. As a result of their efforts, they were awarded the light. The County of Currituck disputed the findings since they had also applied. This delayed the transfer until 2010, when it went to the group that had demonstrated their commitment.
For others, such as Little River Lighthouse, in Cutler Maine, the well-established American Lighthouse Foundation (ALF), created in 1994 with a mission to save and preserve our nation’s historic light stations and their rich heritage, stepped up and applied. The light station was transferred in 2002, and the group immediately started restoration of the tower and other elements of the station. In October of 2001, the Friends of Little River Light, a chapter of ALF, held a relighting ceremony. The group continued their restoration efforts, which were completed in 2008, and they continue to provide ongoing care and preservation. This, after all, is why the NHLPA was created—to ensure those who have a special love and respect for historic structures have a chance to put those feelings into action.
The first several years were busy, as many properties went through the process.
In 2002, GSA initially sent out 19 Notices of Availability for lighthouses in a program identified as a National Pilot Program. Two of these were later removed. Of the remaining 17 lights, one was transferred via special legislation, one was auctioned, and the rest were transferred at no cost, though one of those was later returned and auctioned. In 2003, Point Retreat Light was transferred via special legislation to the Alaska Lighthouse Association.
The next set of lighthouses were announced in 2004, with 14 Notices of Availability generated. As more and more lighthouses became available, there was a limit to the number of non-profits that were in a position to take on the task. This is evident when only eight of these lighthouses were transferred. Five were auctioned because of lack of applicants, and in one case, the application was rejected, and it too was placed on the auction block. In total, five of the 19 were sold.
In 2005, a further 10 lighthouse Notices of Availability were issued. Six were general transfers, one was a federal transfer, and four were auctioned. One light, Fairport Harbor West Breakwater, was auctioned four times.
This occurred because the first three auction winners defaulted for various reasons, primarily due to complications surrounding the required lease to use the breakwater on which the lighthouse sat. While the process seems organized and straightforward, it can get complicated.
After the first 10 years, 49 lighthouses had been transferred and 21 had been sold in public sales. Of the transfers, 28 went to non-profits, 15 to local governments, four were federal transfers (NPS and U.S. Fish and Wildlife), and two went to state governments. Even those transferred to local government may be under the care of a non-profit. For example, Thomas Point Shoal Light is technically transferred to the City of Annapolis, which holds the deed, but they are in partnership with the U.S. Lighthouse Society, which has a lease to perform the preservation and maintenance on the light. The non-profit also organizes the public access to the offshore light.
Many of the lighthouses that have gone through this program, both as transfers and even those auctioned to private individuals, have been restored and opened to the public. Others have not fared quite as well. We’ll see how the program continues in following stories.
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