Saturday, December 30, 2017

Lighthouse of the Week, December 24-30, 2017: Galloo Island, New York, USA


It's the end of the year 2017, and I thought I'd offer everyone a present (but you'll have to pay for it yourself).  In this case, it's a private island for sale in Lake Ontario.  Now, according to the Web site about it, it's under contract, but that could still potentially fall through (I guess).  According to Lighthouse Friends, you can have the lighthouse for around $295,000, and the rest of the island, including the lodge-style main house and an air strip, for just under $13 million.

Galloo Island - look at that beach!



















You can thank me later.

If you buy it or not, the island is Galloo Island, in eastern Lake Ontario.  And of course it has a lighthouse.  Given that it's been there awhile, there's a current lighthouse and there was a previous lighthouse.   Read the complete history at Lighthouse Friends.

Here are a couple of excerpts from there about the current lighthouse.
"Work on a new sixty-foot-tall tower and dwelling began late in 1866 and was completed the following year. Gray limestone, quarried on the island, was used to build the new structures, which were linked by a covered passageway. Theo Stevens, the head keeper, moved into the new residence, while the old dwelling was retained for an assistant, a position which was added to the station in 1867."
"Despite protests from boaters, Galloo Island Lighthouse was automated in 1963, when the power source was changed from direct to alternating current, and a communication line was installed to the Coast Guard boat station on the island to permit the personnel there to operate the light and fog horn by remote control. The lighthouse was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983, and in 1997 the Coast Guard, who didn’t want to spend the money to maintain the aging buildings, declared the station surplus."
So it's historical, and a bargain.  Buy now!

Oh, I wouldn't be a good real estate agent if I didn't offer some pictures of the property. The second is from an old postcard.




Aerial view



No comments: