Another Michigan Lighthouse Is Up For Sale – Do You Want To Own It?

Here in Michigan we are pretty fascinated with our lighthouses. More than 120 beacons line our Great Lakes shoreline, and while many of them no longer serve the same purpose they once did they still attract visitors from all over. If you’ve ever dreamed of owning your own lighthouse, you once again have that chance as another Michigan light is set to be auctioned off next month. The Keweenaw Waterway Lower Entrance Light is set to go up for auction in June, so let’s find out a little bit more about this Upper Peninsula landmark.

We’ve seen a handful of Michigan lighthouses find new owners through this same process over the last few years with White Shoal Lighthouse, the North Manitou Shoal Light, and Spectacle Reef Lighthouse being the first ones that come to mind. In 2019 we saw the Poe Reef Light and the Ontonagon Breakwater Light go up for auction, and private listings have seen the Portage River (Jacobsville) Lighthouse (more on that later), Mendota (Bete Grise) Lighthouse, and Middle Island Lighthouse hit the open market. In recent years we’ve even seen some intense bidding wars for some of our offshore lights. With the great location of the Keweenaw Waterway Lower Entrance Light, will we see another?

The listing from GSA Auctions states: “Opened in 1919, the Keweenaw Waterway Lower Entrance Light is located at the end of a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers breakwater in Houghton County, Michigan. Marking the southern end of the Portage River, the lighthouse stands 68 feet tall and contains approximately 1,000 square feet of interior space. Known also as the Portage Entry Light or the Portage Lake Lower Entry Light, this active aid to navigation was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2014. Due to the previous steward’s inability to comply with the requirements of the National Lighthouse Preservation Act of 2000, the light is now available for purchase through public auction.” The previous group (Keweenaw Waterway Lighthouse Conservancy) took ownership in 2014 and even received a 2018 Michigan Lighthouse Assistance Program grant to help with estimates for future repairs. There seems to be little trace of them since then. Anyone interested in taking over this lighthouse should be aware that certain historic preservation guidelines will have to be followed if repairs are made.

A fun note here is that the nearby Portage River Lighthouse was recently purchased by a family that has been restoring it and sharing their progress online. If you end up buying the Keweenaw Waterway Lower Entrance Light, there is definitely someone just down the road who knows what taking care of and restoring a lighthouse entails.