Point No Point, as it’s called, is not the type of lighthouse that’s featured on postcards, towering nobly over surging waves, surrounded by rocky cliffs and billowing clouds. As a piece of real estate, this one is definitely a fixer-upper.
A century’s worth of sea gull droppings coats the roof. There are no utilities, just an outhouse hanging off the edge of a deck about a story above sea level.
Complicating matters for any would-be owner is that Point No Point Lighthouse is not accessible by road or even located on land. It rises stubbily out of the Chesapeake Bay more than 2 nautical miles from the southern Maryland shore.
So it was that on a recent chilly morning, after the federal government decided to sell the 102-year-old lighthouse, nine prospective buyers gathered at a dock in St. Mary’s County. To see the lighthouse, prospective buyers had to pay a refundable deposit of $10,000. They strapped on life jackets, climbed aboard two U.S. Coast Guard boats and headed into the bay.
“There it is,” passenger Kay Burrell said as Point No Point appeared in the distance, looking like a giant buoy. This, she had been thinking, could be a project for her and her husband, Tom, now that the kids are in college.
As the lighthouse neared, it became clear how much of a project it would be.
Passengers were reminded not to lean against railings and were told that they were entering at their own risk. They stepped from their vessel onto a metal ladder attached to the brick caisson. Some were unsteady, white-knuckled and unattuned to the ladder’s sway.
In 2000, Congress authorized the sale of historic lighthouses at auctions. Local governments and nonprofit groups are given a chance to buy the lighthouses first; none expressed interest in Point No Point.
The successful bidder must be prepared for the U.S. Coast Guard to drop in at any time to check the light and foghorn, and the winner must maintain the lighthouse, particularly the ladder, so that it can function.
