OLD SAYBROOK, CT (WFSB) - A Connecticut landmark is up for grabs.
The Lynde Point lighthouse, better known as the Inner Lighthouse in the Fenwick section of Old Saybrook will soon have a new owner.
There might not be anyone better suited to talk about the history of the lighthouse than 103-year-old Margaret Bock.
She is better known as: “Bucky! “Because my maidan name was Buckridge.”
Bock’s grandfather served as keeper of the inner lighthouse from 1883 to 1902.
“He had a wooden leg. He lost his leg during the war. My father was in his late teens or early 20s when they lived there so I think my father did a lot of the lighthouse keeping for him,” Bock said.
Eventually in the 1970s, a few keepers after John Buckridge, the lights became automated, and the Coast Guard took control.
Fast forward to today and it’s time for another change of command.
The Coast Guard has decided it doesn’t need this lighthouse anymore.
So now it heads to auction, with an asking price… of nothing.
“The lighthouse is actually one of the symbols of Old Saybrook,” said First Selectman Carl Fortuna.
The town of Old Saybrook is on the short list of groups interested in owning the landmark.
“I know the borough of Fenwick is interested, I know several non-profits are interested, I think the town has to express an interest in it,” Fortuna said.
The U.S. General Services Administration is offering it up to a federal, state or local agency, a nonprofit, an educational group, or a historical preservation committee, in hopes a local group will appreciate it more.
Bock was a member of the Old Saybrook Historical Society for decades.
“Just anyone who’s willing to preserve it,” said Bock.
A total of 10 lighthouses across the country will get new owners as part of this process.
In Old Saybrook those who want to own Lynde Point have until mid-July to write a letter of interest.
They’ll also have the chance to inspect the property.
After that, the National Park Service will review the letters and make a decision on the new owner.
There’s no timeline on when that decision will be made.
“It’s just a part of the history,” Bock said.
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