Status explained
Almost every lighthouse for sale is historic, and most still have a working light. What decommissioned, excess and active mean for a buyer.
For sale 17 photos MI · Saginaw Bay and Lake Michigan
Gravelly Shoal and Skillagalee Lighthouses
$179,900 Asking
Two working Michigan lighthouses, Gravelly Shoal in Saginaw Bay and Skillagalee in Lake Michigan, listed together at $179,900. A nonprofit owns both and will not split them.
For sale 18 photos VA · Chesapeake Bay
$450,000 Asking
A restored 1897 caisson lighthouse with four bedrooms, listed at $450,000 cash. The Coast Guard keeps the lamp lit.
Transfer review 6 photos MA · Boston Harbor and the Atlantic
No cost Federal offering
America's first lighthouse site, on a seven-acre island with six buildings. The federal government offered it at no cost to public and nonprofit groups on August 3, 2026.
Transfer review 5 photos OH · Lake Erie
Cleveland West Pierhead Lighthouse
No cost Federal offering
A four-story tower and fog house on Cleveland's breakwater. A $425,000 auction bid in 2023 never closed, and GSA offered it free to community groups in April 2026.
Auction pending 2 photos RI · Narragansett Bay
Opening bid TBA GSA auction
A lighthouse GSA lists at 51 feet, with a four-bedroom keeper's house on about 1.3 acres, reached by road. GSA plans a public auction and had set no date or opening bid as of June 2026.
Sold 10 photos VA · Chesapeake Bay (Hampton Roads)
Price unconfirmed Sold 2026
Virginia's oldest caisson lighthouse, a fully furnished 1891 tower reached only by boat. Listed at $995,000 in June 2026 and closed in late September.
Sold 2 photos MD · Chesapeake Bay
$192,000 Sold 2022
A 1901 Chesapeake caisson lighthouse that opened at $15,000 and sold for $192,000 in a five-bidder GSA auction in September 2022.
Sold 2 photos RI · Narragansett Bay and Mount Hope Bay
$805,000 Sold 2022
An 1855 brick lighthouse with an attached keeper's house at the foot of the Mount Hope Bridge. Listed at $750,000 in August 2022 and sold for $805,000.
No lighthouse matches those filters. Try another state or status.
A decommissioned lighthouse is one whose light has been turned off and retired from service. It is a different thing from an excess lighthouse, which the Coast Guard no longer needs to own. Most lighthouses for sale are excess but still active: the light stays lit and the Coast Guard keeps running it.
Bristol Ferry is the clear decommissioned case. Its light was discontinued in 1927 when the Mount Hope Bridge replaced the ferry, and an automated beacon went up across the road. Eight of the nine lighthouses in this directory still have an active light, counting both Michigan towers.
A lighthouse for sale is usually still an active aid to navigation. The Coast Guard declares a lighthouse excess to its property needs, and it often keeps the aid to navigation, which remains the property of the United States. The GSA fact sheet says many of the excess light stations reported are active aids to navigation.
Boston Light shows the split. The new steward would take the island and buildings, and the Coast Guard would keep operating the beacon and fog signal. The buyer of an active light also grants the Coast Guard the right to enter to service it. Who owns US lighthouses lists the owner groups.
Historic here means eligible for or listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act applies to light stations that are listed or eligible, and it requires preservation to the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for anyone who receives one through the free route.
Nearly every lighthouse in the directory is listed: Smith Point, Middle Ground, Boston Light, Cleveland West Pierhead, Warwick Neck, Hooper Island, Bristol Ferry and Skillagalee. Boston Light is also a National Historic Landmark.
The table sorts the eight listings in this directory by light status and register status. One listing covers two Michigan towers, so that is nine lighthouses. Eight still have an active light. One, Bristol Ferry, was retired in 1927.
All are on or eligible for the National Register except where noted. Structure type, from caisson to land tower, is covered in types and parts of a lighthouse.
| Lighthouse | Light | Historic status | Route |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gravelly Shoal and Skillagalee (MI) | Active | Skillagalee on the National Register | Private sale |
| Smith Point (VA) | Active | National Register | Private sale |
| Boston Light (MA) | Active | National Register and National Historic Landmark | Free transfer under review |
| Cleveland West Pierhead (OH) | Active | National Register and Cleveland landmark | Free transfer under review |
| Warwick Neck (RI) | Active | National Register | Auction pending |
| Middle Ground (VA), sold | Active | National Register | Private sale |
| Hooper Island (MD), sold | Active | National Register | Auction |
| Bristol Ferry (RI), sold | Retired in 1927 | National Register | Private sale |
Facts on this page were checked against these sources on September 30, 2026. Found an error? Tell us.