said his goal is for the town not to spend any money on repairs or maintenance. Instead, the first selectman wants those expenses to be covered by a nonprofit organization or through fundraisers. Flatto said he didn't think annual maintenance of the boxy structure would cost much because it isn't occupied or accessible to the public.
He added the town's intention would be for Penfield Lighthouse to be a historical landmark, so it wouldn't need to be in "tip-top shape" for guided tours. "Obviously, the first choice would have been for the federal government to continue to take care of the lighthouse, but since they want to dispose of it, the town feels obligated that we want to save it," Flatto said. The GSA, which is now seeking local, state or federal government agencies or non-profit organizations to buy Penfield Lighthouse, requires potential buyers to submit an application that identifies the lighthouse's proposed use beyond that of a navigational beacon and how that use and maintenance will be financed.
Flatto said town officials have had "very positive conversations" with the Fairfield Historical Society and Fairfield Beach Residents Association about helping to maintain the lighthouse. The Fairfield Historical Society oversees maintenance of six town-owned historic structures, though the cost of repairs is partially covered by the town. Michael Jehle, the society's executive director, said he viewed Penfield Lighthouse in the same context, but added the society's board of directors would have to approve any arrangement with the town.
Local, state or federal government agencies and non-profits have until July 18 to send the GSA a letter indicating interest in owning Penfield Lighthouse. "If we don't have a response from any of those agencies, that's when it would go out to bid for the public," Menzies said. Jennifer Carpenter, Flatto's deputy chief of staff, said the town's letter already is on its way and that the town expects to receive an application within 60 days of July 18.
Carpenter said the town's interest in owning Penfield Lighthouse, which is on the National Register of Historic Places, was strong and that it could be a valuable addition to the town. "We want to acquire it to include as part of our inventory of historic structures. This is a special landmark that's really important to the town," Carpenter said.
Jeremy D'Entremont, author of The Lighthouses in Connecticut, said lighthouses appeal to people because of their history, architecture, setting and symbolism of hope in a sea of darkness. "The symbol of a light in the darkness, a guiding light in the darkness, is pretty powerful for people, I think," D'Entremont, a Portsmouth, N.H.
, resident, said. The allure of Penfield Lighthouse may extend beyond even the grave. Local legend has it that Frederick Jordan, the lighthouse keeper who drowned in December 1916 after his boat capsized near the lighthouse, appeared to his assistant, Rudolph Iten, as a ghost two weeks later.
Iten, who became the lighthouse keeper after Jordan's death, reported in his log that Jordan's apparition glided down the tower's stairs and disappeared in darkness. Iten then found the keeper's log opened to the page that documented Jordan's death. D'Entremont said ghost stories are often associated with lighthouses, but Penfield's has more credibility because it's based on a well-documented death.
D'Entremont also doubted that Iten, who tried to save Jordan from drowning, would make light of his death by fabricating a story. Jordan's ghost appeared to other lighthouse keepers through the years, and Iten had them sign affidavits to what they had witnessed, D'Entremont said. A more fantastic tale involves Jordan pulling two boys out of the water after their boat capsized near the lighthouse in 1942.
The boys claimed a man rescued them, but the man was nowhere to be found when they went to the lighthouse to thank him. The boys later identified Jordan as their rescuer after seeing his photograph, according to the local legend. Penfield Lighthouse was nearly lost in 1969, when the Coast Guard announced plans to replace it with a steel tower, D'Entremont said.
But the public outcry led former U.S. Lowell Weicker and Stewart B.
McKinney to convince the Coast Guard to leave it alone. In 1971, Penfield Lighthouse no longer had a keeper because its light was automated, D'Entremont said. The GSA has disposed of 28 lighthouses nationwide since the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act of 2000, Menzies said.
Of the 13 up for sale this year, only one other the 121-year-old Saybrook Breakwater Lighthouse in Old Saybrook is in Connecticut. But the GSA in earlier years advertised Tongue Point Light in Bridgeport, built in 1894 and also known as Bridgeport Breakwater Light and Bug Light, and New London Harbor Light in New London, built in 1760. The National Park Service recommended ownership of New London Harbor Light be transferred to the New London Maritime Society, but couldn't find an interested party for Tongue Point Light.
The 31-foot-tall Tongue Point Light is on the west side of Bridgeport Harbor's entrance, but it's on the grounds of a power plant and can't be visited. Tongue Point Light isn't the only lighthouse that's been shunned. Those lighthouses also include Sandy Point Shoal Light Station and Baltimore Lighthouse, both in Maryland; Smith Point Lighthouse, Thimble Shoal Lighthouse and Wolf Gap Lighthouse, all in Virginia; and Borden Flats Lighthouse in Massachusetts.
The GSA sold the Maryland and Virginia lighthouses at auction, while the Borden Flats Lighthouse appears headed for that fate. Lighthouses in which no suitable buyer could be found include Goose Rocks Light Station in Maine, Newport News Middle Ground Light in Virginia, and Fourteen Foot Bank Lighthouse and Marcus Hook Light Station, both in Delaware. The GSA sold the Maine and Virginia lighthouses at auction, and the National Park Service recently notified the GSA that no suitable owner for the Delaware lighthouses could be found.
Menzies said the vast majority of parties that bought a lighthouse were government agencies or non-profits and that she wasn't aware of an instance in which more than one party wanted to acquire a lighthouse. D'Entremont didn't like the idea of private parties owning a lighthouse because the structures' long-term maintenance couldn't be guaranteed. "It's preferable for a non-profit or town entity to take care of it," D'Entremont said.
D'Entremont said he hopes the town is successful in acquiring Penfield Lighthouse but added it may be difficult to raise money for repairs and maintenance because the lighthouse is offshore. "You have to be creative. You kind of have to bring the lighthouse to the community.
These off-shore ones, it's very tough," he said. "I really wish the [federal] government could set up a fund that would help with the maintenance of these lighthouses." said his goal is for the town not to spend any money on repairs or maintenance.
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