3 Michigan Lighthouses for Sale in Online Auction

The Spectacle Reef Light on the Straits of Mackinac is among three Michigan lighthouses offered at auction by the U.S. General Services Administration. (Photos via Facebook)

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If you know a non-profit group that has always wanted its own historic lighthouse, there might not be a better time than right now to pick from several, including three on the Great Lakes in Michigan that the government’s trying to unload in an online auction.

The lighthouses are all listed on the National Register of Historic Places and are being sold through the U.S. General Services Administration.

Advancements in technology mean the Coast Guard no longer needs the lighthouses for navigation.

Whoever buys them will be required to follow established standards for the treatment of historic properties.The government tried to give the properties to qualifying historical societies, muncipal governments and others who would maintain them for a public purpose, but had no takers, according to LighthouseFriends.com

Here’s a bit about the properties, and the bids as of late Monday afternoon. It’s unclear how long the auction will remain open.

The Spectacle Reef Light in the Straits of Mackinac had a $10,000 bid. Only the lighthouse – not the property it sits on – is included in the sale. The 86-foot-tall gray conical light tower on a concrete crib sits 11 miles off the eastern end of Bois Blanc Island on the waters of Lake Huron. READ MORE HISTORY HERE.

The Ile aux Galets Light on Skillagalee Island on Lake Michigan, above, had a $5,000 bid. This lighthouse was built in 1888 on a remote islet in northeast Lake Michigan, seven miles northeast of Cross Village in Emmet County. The octagonal brick and stone hourglass tower is 58 feet high. READ MORE HISTORY HERE.

The Gravelly Shoal Light on Lake Huron in Au Gres, above, had a $5,000 bid as well. It’s located on Saginaw Bay, approximately 5 miles offshore from Aux Gres Township in Arenac County. The art deco style lighthouse was constructed in 1939 to mark the shoals around Big Charity Island. The 65-foot tower is constructed of reinforced concrete and steel with white markings. READ MORE HISTORY HERE.