45°
FAIRFIELD, Conn. The movement to take back a Fairfield landmark is officially under way. The Board of Selectman agreed Wednesday to form a committee under the leadership of Sandye Mann and Bill Sapone to look into buying back the Penfield Reef Lighthouse.
To me, that lighthouse is really what Fairfield is all about, Mann said. Were a coastal town, we support five active beaches. ... Penfield Light is kind of an extension of what weve tried to do at the beach.
The lighthouse sits a mile off Fairfields coast in Long Island Sound, serving as the entrance to the towns harbor. It has stood there since 1874 and has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1990.
Legend has it that keeper Frederick Jordan tried to return to the mainland just before Christmas in 1916 but died on the trip because of rough waters. His assistant and successor Rudolph Iten later reported the he had seen Jordans ghost walking the halls of the lighthouse.
The federal government was once responsible for lighthouses care, but in 2007 the General Services Administration declared it expendable and accepted applications for a new caretaker. Beacon Preservation, a nonprofit group dedicated to saving historic lighthouses, beat out Fairfield in the application process and took over.
But since then, Beacon has tried to negotiate with the state to buy the land underneath the lighthouse, which was a requirement before the GSA would sign over the deed. Beacon Preservation now plans to sell the rights to the lighthouse at auction.
The 14-member Penfield Reef Lighthouse Committee will see what the town can do to take control of the lighthouse. It includes Sapone and Mann, as well as Selectman Sherri Steenceck, deputy chief to the first selectman Jennifer Carpenter and Fairfield Museum and History Center Executive Director Michael Jehle.
The first step is to see whether the town can take over the lighthouse for no cost, as it would have in 2007 had Beacon not won the bid. If it cant, the town will begin gathering donations for a potential auction.
This in essence is a mission for us, said Linda Crowley, a committee member. Once it become the mission, we can gather the tools needed to complete this process.
Do you think the town should take over the Penfield Reef Lighthouse? Share your ideas in the comments below.
Click here to follow Daily Voice Fairfield and receive free news updates.
